Maryland teens, wife arrested over love triangle double slaying
John Clarke, Reuters
First posted: Friday, October 16, 2015 12:55 PM EDT | Updated: Friday, October 16, 2015 01:06 PM EDT
(aijohn784/Fotolia)
A Maryland woman and two teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in an alleged double slaying triggered by a love triangle gone bad, police said on Friday.
Ann Anastasi, 42, of Lothian, Md., was arrested on Thursday and charged with the killing of her husband, Anthony Anastasi, 40, and housemate Jacqueline Riggs, 25, Anne Arundel County Police said in a statement.
A 13-year-old girl was also arrested on Thursday. Police arrested her boyfriend, Gabriel Struss, 18, in Annapolis, Md., on Friday, the statement said.
Responding to a call, police found Anastasi dead from a gunshot in his home's master bedroom in the early afternoon of Oct. 5. They found Riggs stabbed to death in the basement.
Riggs had been romantically involved with Anastasi and his wife, police said, citing witness interviews and forensic evidence.
She had moved into the basement this summer, causing tension in the household, according to police.
The move prompted Ann Anastasi to recruit the 13-year-old girl and, later, Struss to help kill her husband and Riggs, the statement said.
Each of the three faces two counts of first- and second-degree murder, police said. The maximum penalty for first-degree murder is life imprisonment without parole.
Anastasi also faces a firearms charge, police said. She is being held without bond and court documents did not list an attorney for her.
The girl was not named because of her age and is being held at a juvenile detention centre. She is also being charged as an accessory.
Struss is also charged with conspiracy and firearms violations.
