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The judge ordered the records to be sealed for two years and imposed a gag order for both parties not to discuss the terms of the settlement publicly, but Stephen and the Serratos would each claim that it was the other who made the initial offer.
#UNSOLVED WIKI STEPHEN GERI TRIAL#
In May 1987, the case was about to go to trial when both sides suddenly decided to reach an out-of-court settlement. Months later, Stephen attempted to collect on Marilu’s $435,000 life insurance policy, prompting the Serratos to file a wrongful death lawsuit to prevent him from getting the money. But due to the paramedics’ injection into Marilu’s heart, it was impossible to determine if she was killed before or after Stephen left the house. The day after the crime, Stephen also returned to all the locations he visited in order to remind everyone that he had been there the previous morning. Since the convenience store was only two blocks away from the Geri residence and took less than five minutes to drive there, this seemed to open up a hole of around 20-25 minutes of unaccounted-for time in Stephen’s alibi. While employees from the 7-11 confirmed Stephen was there on the morning of the murder, they said he did not arrive until about three minutes before 7:00. After interviewing several people, the investigator learned it was very out of character for Stephen to leave his home as early as 6:30 AM, as he commonly left at around 9:00 or 10:00. However, the Serratos were skeptical of Stephen’s story and hired their own private investigator. Over the next two-and-a-half-hours, Stephen went about his business and was almost always in the presence of other witnesses who could verify his whereabouts until Marilu’s body was discovered shortly after 10:00. He phoned Marilu from the company’s reception desk and claimed he spoke to her. Stephen next visited a company called Precision Glass and spoke to some of the people there until he realized it was nearly 7:30. He then ran a few errands, which included purchasing coffee from a 7-11 convenience store, picking up mail from the post office, and buying some donuts at a donut shop. Marilu was still in bed, so Stephen said he would call her at 7:00 and he was certain that the security system was still on when left. He claimed he woke up at 5:00 AM and did some work on his home computer before leaving the house at around 6:25- 6:30.
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Stephen also provided a very detailed alibi for the morning of the crime. Stephen did own several handguns, but they were all tested by the police ballistics lab and ruled out as having been used in the shooting. Two years earlier, he had taken out a $435,000 life insurance policy on Marilu and he now stood to collect that money. Marilu’s parents immediately suspected Stephen, as their marriage had been falling apart and Stephen was experiencing financial difficulties since he was known for spending beyond his means. Robbery did not seem to be the motive for the crime, but Stephen would later claim that around $25,000-30,000 worth of valuables, including jewellery and fur coats, was stolen from the home. Marilu’s jewellery box was open, but numerous pieces of jewellery were lying around in plain sight and she was wearing some as well. There were no signs of forced entry or struggle at the house and Marilu was not sexually assaulted. The procedure would later make it impossible to determine Marilu’s exact time of death. When the paramedics arrived, they unsuccessfully attempted to resuscitate Marilu by injecting a medication into her heart to restart it. She had been shot four times, three times in the neck and once in the side, and bullets came from both a. Maria walked inside and discovered Marilu’s body in the bathroom. Maria attempted to phone her daughter, but received no answer, so she drove over to the Geri residence and noticed the front door was unlocked. February 14 also happened to be Maria’s birthday and Stephen said that Marilu was preparing a joint birthday-Valentine’s Day party for her, so he asked Maria if she could go over to their house and help Marilu out. On the morning of Valentine’s Day, Stephen left the house to run some errands and conduct his business before he called Marilu’s mother, Maria Serrato, from a payphone at 8:15 AM. The couple had been married for three years and Stephen operated his own insurance business out of their home with Marilu working for him. In 1986, 33-year old Marilu Geri lived in Sugar Land, Texas with her 43-year old husband, Stephen Geri.