Missing Staten Island teacher vanished after husband received divorce papers: lawyer

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/03/missi...after-husband-received-divorce-papers-lawyer/

Missing Staten Island teacher vanished after husband received divorce papers: lawyer
By Nick Fugallo, Lorena Mongelli, Larry Celona and Stephanie Pagones
April 3, 2019 | 9:35pm | Updated

The lawyer for a missing Staten Island teacher said he fears the worst because she disappeared less than 48 hours after her allegedly abusive husband — who was arrested Wednesday — was served with divorce papers.

“My greatest fear is: I will not be speaking to Jeanine again,” said attorney Eric Gansberg, who is representing Jeanine Cammarata in her divorce against estranged husband Michael Cammarata.

Michael was served with divorce papers last Thursday and Jeanine was preparing for a Monday divorce-and-child-custody hearing over their 3-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter when she vanished, the lawyer said.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me. She was so eager to proceed. She wanted to be with her children. I cannot imagine her just walking away,” Gansberg said.

The NYPD questioned and then arrested Michael after he admitted to assaulting the woman, law-enforcement sources said. He was charged with assault, harassment and stalking — but the charges were not related to Jeanine’s disappearance, the sources added.

Jeanine’s landlord told The Post she had spoken to him about Michael’s odd behavior toward her.

“[She] once told me that he would follow her [while she was driving] with the lights off on his car. That’s terrifying,” José Perez said.

The mother-of-three, who teaches at PS 29 in the Castleton Corners section, was last seen Saturday evening going to pick up her kids from Michael in Staten Island’s 120th Precinct.

Her lawyer told The Post they likely chose the neutral meeting spot because “Jeanine had expressed trepidation, to put it mildly, about being around her husband.”

They previously had orders of protection against one another, he added. “In fact, she said she left the marital residence because of domestic violence, although she didn’t want to remove the children from their home,” Gansberg said.

Jeanine, 37, and Michael, 42, married on April 6, 2014, and separated around May 2016, according to one family member.

Jeanine also has an 11-year-old child from a previous marriage, to Greg Gubitosi of Long Island.

That child does not know his mother is missing, said his step-mom, Daniella Gubitosi.

“We’re trying to shelter him as much as possible until we know a little bit more information. We’re not prepared for this at all. Clearly, who can be?” she told The Post.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/04/body-believed-to-be-staten-island-woman-jeanine-cammarata-badly-burnt/

Body believed to be Staten Island woman Jeanine Cammarata ‘badly burnt’
By Larry Celona
April 4, 2019 | 12:57pm

A body believed to be Jeanine Cammarata was uncovered Thursday at the Extra Space Storage in Staten Island. Facebook/Seth Gottfried


The corpse discovered in a Staten Island storage unit and believed to be missing borough teacher Jeanine Cammarata was “badly burnt,” according to law enforcement sources.

The body, uncovered early Thursday morning at the Extra Space Storage on Arden Ave. in Arden Heights, was also inside a black plastic bag, sources added.

Police are investigating whether the remains are those of Cammarata, 37, a diminutive public school teacher and mother of three who was last seen before going to pick up two of her children from her estranged husband Michael Cammarata, 42, Saturday evening.

Police arrested Michael — whom Jeanine had served with divorce papers just days before her disappearance — on stalking and assault charges Wednesday stemming from an incident the day Jeanine disappeared, sources said.

He has not, however, been charged in her disappearance.

Police also recovered a van that Michael allegedly drove from his Queens home to Staten Island on Sunday night, roughly a day after Jeanine went missing, law enforcement sources said.

Cops interviewed Michael’s girlfriend Wednesday night and cracked open the storage unit Thursday morning — which sources say is no coincidence.

The facility would not confirm who the unit belonged to, but a rep said the company was cooperating with police.

Investigators also descended on Michael’s Rockaways apartment Thursday.

 

[Gman]

Now there is an ending that no one could have predicted...

 

[The Bobster]

I've heard of dead nigger storage, never dead coalburner storage. But there does seem to be a market for it.

 

[voiceofreason]

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/04/05/search-for-missing-si-mom-turns-into-murder-investigation/


Missing Staten Island Mom Jeanine Cammarata’s ‘Charred’ Remains ID’d; 2 Charged With Murder
April 5, 2019 at 2:22 pm

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – The estranged husband of missing mother and teacher Jeanine Cammarata has been charged with murder in the second degree after officials positively identified her “charred and unrecognizable” remains.

Michael Cammarata, 42, and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea, 41, both face murder charges in the case. They are also charged with concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

On Thursday morning, police discovered burned human remains inside a storage facility on Arden Avenue on Staten Island.

Michael Cammarata was arrested Wednesday on assault and stalking charges after sources say he admitted to hitting her. He had been held in custody while officials attempted to identify Cammarata’s remains.

UPDATE: The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation. Working closely with @StatenIslandDA, we have arrested Michael Cammarata & Ayisha Egea, both charged with Murder 2° #jeaninecammarata pic.twitter.com/mLSd72wmhU

— Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) April 5, 2019

“The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said on Twitter.

Sources tell CBS2 police have two surveillance videos of a man who resembles Michael Cammarata with what appears to be an accomplice transporting a large, heavy bag from Queens to the storage facility on Arden Avenue.

Sources told CBS2 the storage locker was lined with air fresheners in an attempt to mask the smell.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/05/estra...charged-with-murder-of-staten-island-teacher/

Estranged husband, girlfriend charged with murder of Staten Island teacher
By Stephanie Pagones and Gabrielle Fonrouge
April 5, 2019 | 1:58pm | Updated April 5, 2019 | 2:29pm

The estranged husband of missing Staten Island teacher Jeanine Cammarata and his new girlfriend were charged with murder on Friday afternoon after a DNA test proved the burnt body found at a storage facility was her, according to sources and the NYPD’s chief of detectives.

“The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation. Working closely with @StatenIslandDA, we have arrested Michael Cammarata & Ayisha Egea, both charged with Murder [in the second degree],” Chief Dermot Shea wrote on Twitter Friday afternoon.

Michael Cammarata and his 41-year-old girlfriend will be arraigned at Staten Island Criminal Court Friday afternoon on murder charges, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence, police and a law enforcement source said.

Michael Cammarata, 42, was a prime suspect in the missing teacher’s death Thursday and it was revealed Friday his girlfriend helped him murder Jeanine Cammarata at the Rockaway Beach home him and Egea shared, police sources said.

While Egea has been charged with murder and was present for the crime, police sources said, they’re still determining her exact involvement.

A mother of three, Jeanine Cammarata, 37, had been missing since Saturday when a flurry of strange texts to friends raised eyebrows.

The two have a long history of domestic violence and Michael Cammarata was being held since Wednesday on separate charges of assaulting, stalking and harassing his estranged wife.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/05/air-f...where-burned-body-was-found-on-staten-island/

Air fresheners lined Staten Island storage locker where burned body was found
By Stephanie Pagones and Larry Celona
April 5, 2019 | 10:30am | Updated April 5, 2019 | 11:09am

Extra Space Coalburner Storage in Arden Heights
Seth Gottfried


Air fresheners lined the storage locker where authorities discovered the “charred and unrecognizable” corpse believed to be missing Staten Island teacher Jeanine Cammarata, a law enforcement sources told the Post.

Investigators are still working to identify the body found early Thursday inside Extra Space Storage in Arden Heights, where surveillance footage shows Michael Cammarata — the mom of three’s estranged husband — and a second person lugging what appears to be a large object onto the facility’s property, the sources said.

Investigators questioned Cammarata’s girlfriend late Wednesday, though police are still working to determine her involvement, if any, in Jeanine’s disappearance, the sources added.

The Office of the City Medical Examiner has not yet confirmed whether the DNA from the remains matched that of Jeanine, who was last seen late Saturday.

Friends and family took to social media to remember Jeanine for her “big, beautiful heart.”

“[T]his world now just seems wrong.. surreal.. empty,” wrote longtime friend Jessica Pobega in an early Friday post to her Facebook page. “Jeanine, I was searching through photos and I just see your happy smiling face. I will remember that smile for always.. your goofy personality, your big, beautiful heart.”

“I used to tease you and tell you it’s why I kept just you around all of these years,” she continued.

Michael and Jeanine had eight previous domestic incidents reported between them, and he was the aggressor in all but one, a police source previously told The Post.

Cammarata is still in police custody at the 120th Precinct stationhouse, where he was charged Wednesday with assault, stalking and harassment. He has not yet been charged with Jeanine’s murder, though officials announced Thursday that he is the primary suspect in her presumed death.

 

[voiceofreason]

The arrest of spouse Michael Cammarata (right) came one day after he was identified as the “prime suspect” in the disappearance of his 37-year-old wife. Busted along with him was his girlfriend Kangi-Ayisha Egea (left) on the same charge of murder.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/05/woman...end-kill-estranged-wife-is-6-months-pregnant/

Woman accused of helping boyfriend kill estranged wife is 6-months pregnant
By Nick Fugallo and Gabrielle Fonrouge
April 5, 2019 | 5:42pm | Updated

Ayisha Egea, left, is charged with helping her boyfriend Michael Cammarata, right, kill his estranged wife. Amanda Steen/Staten Island Advan


The woman accused of helping her boyfriend murder his estranged wife — a Staten Island teacher — is 6-months pregnant, prosecutors revealed on Friday during their arraignment on murder charges.

Ayisha Egea, 41, who is carrying Michael Cammarata’s child :barf1:, allegedly helped him murder Jeanine Cammarata, burn her body and hide it in a storage facility in Arden Heights.

The storage room was lined with air fresheners in an attempt to lessen the smell of her decaying flesh, a law enforcement source said.

The lovebirds are charged with murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with evidence in the death of Cammarata whose charred remains were found on Thursday.

They were ordered held without bail.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/05/how-e...l-pal-allegedly-killed-staten-island-teacher/

How hubby, gal pal allegedly tried to hide Staten Island teacher’s burned body
By Stephanie Pagones and Gabrielle Fonrouge
April 5, 2019 | 9:39pm | Updated

Ayisha Egea, left, is accused of helping her boyfriend Michael Cammarata (right), murder his estranged wife Jeanine Cammarata (inset).


The estranged husband of a missing Staten Island schoolteacher teamed with his six-months pregnant girlfriend to kill his wife, burn her body and hide it in a storage locker, prosecutors said Friday.

Michael Cammarata, 42, and Ayisha Egea, 41, who is carrying his child , were charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse in the death of Jeanine Cammarata.

Both were held without bond.

Sometime between Saturday and Monday, the couple allegedly killed Jeanine Cammarata, 37, at their home in Rockaway Beach, Queens, then burned her body so badly that the medical examiner needed dental records to prove it was her.

They threw her remains in a trash bag and carted it into a storage unit in Staten Island’s Arden Heights section using one of the facility’s large bins, prosecutors and law enforcement sources said on Friday.

Michael Cammarata and a person believed to be Egea were allegedly caught on video as they lugged what appeared to be a large object, a police source said.

Cops found her body beside a slew of air fresheners apparently set up to hide the putrid smell, a law enforcement source said.

Jeanine Cammarata, who taught at PS 29 on Staten Island, was last seen Saturday and had told loved ones she was going to pick up the two children she had with Michael Cammarata, but the beloved teacher never made it back.

Jeanine and Michael Cammarata had been separated since May 2016 and had a history of domestic violence incidents while together.

The two were in the middle of a custody battle over their children — a 3-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl — when she vanished. Jeanine Cammarata also has another child from a different relationship.

Jeanine Cammarata had just served Michael Cammarata divorce papers two days before she disappeared, and the two were expected in Family Court on Monday for a hearing.

Her boyfriend, who lives on Staten Island, had reported her missing on Tuesday morning.

A friend of Egea’s told The Post that Egea wasn’t responsible for the murder and that Michael Cammarata was behind the grisly crime.

“She didn’t do it. The man admitted to doing it by himself. The police are trying to charge her saying she knew about it, and that’s why she is being charged,” said the friend, Enzo Ramos.

“She will be beating the charges and released. She was home the entire time, and the cameras of the complex prove she was not with him.”

Jeanine Cammarata’s friends first became worried on Monday, when they received a flurry of strange text messages that were sent from her phone but which they didn’t believe came from her.

Jessica Pobega, who says she is one of Jeanine Cammarata’s closest friends, replied that she was going to call the police.

Pobega mourned her friend’s death on Friday and slammed the duo charged with her murder.

“May they suffer in the 10th circle of hell,” Pobega wrote on Facebook. “I will miss you forever … I will make sure they pay … I will make sure that they see my face at that trial.. you will have justice …

“They had no right to take you away like that … you deserved the world.”

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/06/woman...yfriends-estranged-wife-was-their-babysitter/

Woman accused of helping kill boyfriend’s estranged wife was their babysitter
By Adam Schrader
April 6, 2019 | 8:43pm | Updated

She was the babysitter from hell.

More than two years before Ayisha Egea allegedly helped murder, burn and then hide the charred corpse of Jeanine Cammarata, she was welcomed into the tragic Staten Island teacher’s home as her well-paid babysitter, the victim’s confidant told The Post on Saturday.

With Jeanine’s blessing, welfare mom Egea began working in her and Michael Cammarata’s Hylan Boulevard home in late 2017, the slain teacher’s friend and landlord, Jose Perez, told The Post.

But Michael, 42, and Egea, 41 — who’s now six months’ pregnant with his kid — quickly began “messing around” together behind Jeanine’s back, Perez claimed of the pair, who are charged with her murder.

“Jeanine paid [Egea] really well to steal her family,” Perez said.

“Mike was having an affair while they were still together. She just realized it after it started escalating . . . I’m pretty sure she did [catch them in the act]. They certainly weren’t hiding it.”

Things only went downhill from there.

Egea promptly moved into the marital bed, shunting the first-grade teacher into a spare room and bringing in her own brood of five kids to live with the Cammaratas’ now-3-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son, Perez said.

Jeanine also had an 11-year-old son who lives with his father on Long Island, Perez said.

Eventually, Egea edged Jeanine out of the Hylan Boulevard house altogether. Perez — who worked with Jeanine as a pre-K teacher at Staten Island’s PS 18 — offered her an apartment in his building on Cassidy Place, her address when she was murdered.

After the straying husband and Egea moved all the kids to the Rockaways, Jeanine put her own name on the home’s lease — and got stuck footing the rent because “he had ruined her credit without paying the rent,” Perez said of Michael.

“I even told Jeanine, ‘She’s after your money. She wants to be you now. She was a food-stamp recipient and at the same time she’s trying to get your money. She’s trying to become you.’”

Jeanine even bought the two a van so that they could take the kids from the Rockaways to PS 18.

“She was paying for everything, man,” Perez said of Jeanine.

Egea would taunt Jeanine by stealing the show at the school’s parent functions and “career days” — a tray of cupcakes in hand, and Michael on her arm.

“The boy started calling Ayisha ‘mother’ and Jeanine was horrified because it was like she was trying to take over. She was manipulative . . .

“I used to call Ayisha the ‘Pie Lady’ because she used to bring pie, and I even told Mike, ‘You went out with the Pie Lady? This is ridiculous.’ She wasn’t all that good-looking, and I was like, ‘You downgraded?! What the hell is wrong with you.’”

When Jeanine filed for divorce and took Michael to court for custody of the kids, he was enraged, Perez said. “She would cry all the time. She would cry to me and I’d say, ‘Stay strong, we’re going to work this out,’” he said.

“She was living in hell.”

Jeanine wrote her will days before her murder — saying that if anything happened to her, her two kids with Cammarata will be raised by her sister, Perez said.

Jeanine, who also taught at PS 29 in Castleton Corners, was last seen March 30, when she told friends she was going to pick up her two kids. Her body was found Thursday in an Arden Heights storage facility and Cammarata and Egea were charged Friday with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse. Both have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail.

A lawyer for Egea could not be reached for comment; a lawyer for Cammarata declined to comment.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/10/murdered-teachers-kids-rode-in-car-with-her-remains-report/

Murdered teacher’s kids rode in car with her remains: report
By Tamar Lapin
April 10, 2019 | 6:56pm

The children of murdered Staten Island teacher Jeanine Cammarata rode in a car with their mom’s charred body as their dad and his new girlfriend allegedly drove to hide the remains, according to a report on Wednesday.

The kids, a 3-year-old boy and 7-year-old girl, were packed into the car by their father, Michael Cammarata and his live-in girlfriend, Ayisha Egea when the couple went to a storage facility last month to conceal their alleged crime, law enforcement sources told the Staten Island Advance.

Three other children, belonging to Egea, were also in the car, according to the report.

Surveillance footage shows the couple accompanied by the five children, who were “oblivious” to what was inside a plastic bin in the car, the sources said.

Days later, investigators would find Cammarata’s burned remains in a storage unit in Arden Heights, along with air fresheners in an attempt to mask the smell of her decaying flesh.

Michael, 42, and Ayisha, 41, who is six-months pregnant, were charged last week with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse in Jeanine’s death.

Following their mother’s death and the incarceration of their dad, the two children are staying with Michael’s sister, the report said.

Jeanine, 37, also had an 11-year-old son who lives with his father on Long Island.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/11/husband-gal-pal-indicted-for-murder-of-staten-island-teacher/

Husband, gal pal indicted for murder of Staten Island teacher
By Blake Paterson and Emily Saul
April 11, 2019 | 5:06pm | Updated April 11, 2019 | 5:55pm

Michael Cammarata (from left), Jeanine Cammarata and Ayisha Egea
Steven Yang; Gregory P. Mango; Staten Island Advance via AP


The estranged husband of a Staten Island schoolteacher and his gal pal have been indicted in connection with the educator’s grisly murder, authorities said.

A grand jury handed up a notice of indictment Thursday against Michael Cammarata and his pregnant girlfriend Ayisha Egea, according to a spokesman with the Richmond County DA’s office.

The exact charges contained in the indictment remain sealed, as the couple have yet to be arraigned. No court date has been set.

Cammarata, 42, and Egea, 41, were previously charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and concealing a human corpse in the death of Jeanine Cammarata — whose decomposing remains were discovered surrounded by air fresheners in a storage unit in Staten Island’s Arden Heights.

The 37-year-old’s body had been so badly burned the medical examiner required dental records to identify her.

Jeanine and Michael, who have been separated since May 2016, were embroiled in a custody battle over their two young children when she vanished on March 30.

Cammarata and Egea remain held without bond.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/04/26/celeb...o-represent-alleged-jeanine-cammarata-killer/

Celebrity attorney Mario Gallucci to represent alleged Jeanine Cammarata killer
By Gabrielle Fonrouge and Nick Fugallo
April 26, 2019 | 4:25pm | Updated April 26, 2019 | 4:27pm

The Staten Island man accused of murdering his estranged wife, schoolteacher Jeanine Cammarata, has hired celebrity lawyer Mario "Glutton's Gorge" Gallucci to represent him, his previous attorney said in court Friday.

Estranged hubby Michael Cammarata, 42, and girlfriend Ayisha Egea, who’s pregnant with his child, both entered not-guilty pleas during a morning arraignment on indictment charges handed down earlier this month.

During the hearing, Michael Cammarata’s previous lawyer, Joshua Stevens, told Judge Mario Mattei he was no longer going to be representing him and that flamboyant reality TV star lawyer Mario Gallucci was going to be taking over.

Gallucci — who goes by “Mr. Acquittal” on Twitter, with a bio stating he’s a guy “people love to hate, but can’t wait to talk to!” — rose to fame through the people involved in high-profile violent crimes he defended and later, through a USA Network TV show about his practice starring him and partner “Big Lou” Gelormino titled “Partners in Crime.”

Gallucci and his partner have made a business taking on infamous cases such as Eric Bellucci’s murder of his parents inside their home in October 2010. Bellucci later called himself the “Son of Sam”, a reference to a Big Apple serial killer in the 1970s, and threatened inside a court room to shoot Gallucci if he pursued an insanity defense for him, the Staten Island Advance reported.

“I’m very interested in the challenges that this case brings,” Gallucci told The Post on Friday, referring to Cammarata. “I haven’t read or seen any of the discovery yet, but once I do, I’d be happy to give you a further comment.

“From what I read and what my client has said, it sounds like this could be a very challenging case,” he added.

The charges for Michael Cammarata and Ayisha Egea, who are due back in court Monday, were unsealed after their arraignment.

The alleged murdersome lovebirds are charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, concealment of a human corpse, two counts of tampering with physical evidence, and five counts of endangering the welfare of a child, the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office said.

Additionally, the indictment also charges Michael Cammarata with fourth- and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and first- third- and fourth-degree stalking of Jeanine Cammarata, the agency said.

 

[The Bobster]

https://nypost.com/2019/10/05/husba...oolteacher-told-cops-its-cheaper-to-keep-her/

Husband of slain Staten Island schoolteacher told cops: ‘It’s cheaper to keep her’
By Nick Fugallo and Laura Italiano
October 5, 2019 | 1:58am

Michael Cammarata
Richard Harbus


The estranged husband of murdered Staten Island schoolteacher Jeanine Cammarata made a cryptic, possibly incriminating statement after his April arrest, it was revealed in court Friday — tearfully telling a cop: “That’s why it’s cheaper to keep her.”

Michael Cammarata was in an interrogation room when Officer Genea Parker asked him if he wanted something to eat, according to testimony in Staten *Island Supreme Court.

“That’s when he teared up, and I walked out to get him a tissue,” Parker testified. “When I handed it to him, he said, ‘That’s why they say it’s cheaper to keep her.’ ”

The phrase — more common to divorce court than criminal court — is among the statements Michael Cammarata is trying to get suppressed should he go on trial for his wife’s murder.

Hearings are set to continue Oct. 15.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

She learns her fate: Judge rules on woman's bid for reduced sentence in S.I. teacher slaying

Ayisha Egea had pleaded guilty to manslaughter for aiding her boyfriend, but claimed she was a domestic-violence victim.

www.silive.com

​

She learns her fate: Judge rules on woman’s bid for reduced sentence in Staten Island teacher slaying​

• Updated: Jun. 25, 2022, 12:24 p.m.|
• Published: Jun. 24, 2022, 3:25 p.m.

Ayisha Egea, in orange, listens as her attorney Mark J. Fonte, left, addresses the judge during a conference on Feb. 16, 2022, in state Supreme Court, St. George, in which she asked for a sentence reduction. Co-counsel Yan Katsnelson is on the right.

• 
  
• 
  

By

• Frank Donnelly | fdonnelly@siadvance.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Ayisha Egea, who had admitted to acting in concert with her boyfriend, Michael Cammarata, to kill his estranged schoolteacher wife three years ago, lost her bid to have her sentence slashed.

Justice Mario F. Mattei ruled on Friday that Egea did not qualify for a sentence reduction under the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act.

Mattei sentenced Egea under a plea agreement to nine years in prison for first-degree manslaughter stemming from her role in the death of New Brighton resident Jeanine Cammarata, 37, between March 30 and April 1 of 2019.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

Michael Cammarata

Jury reaches verdict in trial of husband accused of killing Staten Island schoolteacher wife

Panel reaches a decision, just hours after deliberations begin.

www.silive.com

Jury reaches verdict in trial of husband accused of killing Staten Island schoolteacher wife​

• Updated: Oct. 18, 2021, 5:37 p.m.|
• Published: Oct. 18, 2021, 3:40 p.m.

Michael Cammarata, with white mask, is shown during opening arguments in his murder trial in state Supreme Court in St. George on Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Cammarata is accused of killing his teacher ex-wife Jeanine Cammarata. Here, he speaks with his attorney Mario F. Gallucci. (Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel)
By

• Frank Donnelly | fdonnelly@siadvance.com

UPDATE: Michael Cammarata was found guilty on all counts. Click here for the story.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The verdict is in.
Just hours after deliberations began Monday morning, jurors reached a decision in the trial of Michael Cammarata, 45, who is accused of slaying his estranged schoolteacher wife Jeanine, 37, on March 30, 2019.

The verdict is expected to be announced in state Supreme Court in St. George shortly.
The victim was a New Brighton resident.

Assistant District Attorneys Adam Silberlight and Timothy Richard told jurors Cammarata acted in concert with his girlfriend, Ayisha Egea, 44, to kill the victim in her car near their Queens home.

The next day, they drove to South Jersey where the victim’s corpse was burned. They ultimately stowed the remains in an Arden Heights storage unit which Cammarata had previously rented, said prosecutors.

Egea will be tried separately.

The remains of Jeanine Cammarata, bottom right, were found in the Arden Heights storage unit of Michael Cammarata, top, prosecutors say. (Staten Island Advance)

In his closing argument last week, defense lawyer Mario F. Gallucci pointed the finger squarely at Egea.
Egea, who had six kids, stood to lose the most if Cammarata was forced to pay the bulk of his earnings in alimony and child support to the victim, he said.
What’s more, Jeanine Cammarata suffered three blunt-force trauma blows to the back of the head.

Surveillance video showed Egea had gotten into the back seat right behind the victim when Jeanine Cammarata picked up her husband and Egea in Queens late on the night of March 30, 2019.

After she killed the victim, Egea “ordered” Cammarata to dispose of the body, said Gallucci.

 

[Arheel's Uncle]

With hands folded on table, husband hears verdict in murder of S.I. schoolteacher wife: Guilty!

The jury needed less than 3 hours to convict Michael Cammarata in the gruesome slaying and coverup.

www.silive.com

With hands folded on table, husband hears verdict in murder of S.I. schoolteacher wife: Guilty!​

• Updated: Oct. 18, 2021, 5:55 p.m.|
• Published: Oct. 18, 2021, 5:34 p.m.

The remains of Jeanine Cammarata, bottom right, were found in the Arden Heights storage unit of Michael Cammarata, top, in April 2019, prosecutors said. (Staten Island Advance)


By

• Frank Donnelly | fdonnelly@siadvance.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A jury needed less than three hours on Monday to convict Michael Cammarata of murdering his estranged schoolteacher wife, Jeanine Cammarata, two years ago, just days after she filed for divorce.
Cammarata, 45, whose hands were folded on the defense table, lowered his eyes as the jury foreman pronounced him guilty of murder.