Ilion High School - Class of 1983

Source is here Utica Observer Dispatch - May 7, 2014

Image Courtesy of The Observer Dispatch

Trial underway for man accused of killing former Herkimer woman - By Staff Reporter

The man accused of killing a former Herkimer County woman in Maryland last year began his trial on murder charges this week.

Attorneys for both sides offered their opening arguments Wednesday in the case against 44-year-old Ryan Matthias, of Charlotte, N.C., who is accused of repeatedly shooting Deborah Massocco Castellano outside her apartment in Columbia, Md., on May 4, 2013.

In court, Howard County Assistant State's Attorney Maurice Frazier told jurors that Matthias stalked Castellano only days before killing her, according to a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office.

Matthias and Castellano had met online through a social network website before Matthias moved from North Carolina to live with Castellano in Herkimer, Frazier said. When "the relationship turned sour," Frazier told jurors that Matthias helped Castellano – who worked at Turning Stone Resort Casino – move to Maryland for a "better job, a better opportunity" with Maryland Live Casino.

On May 1, 2013, however, Matthias called his sister from outside Castellano's apartment and told her that he would "hurt Debbie and hurt himself" because he "lost hope" that he could repair their estranged relationship, Frazier said.

Matthias' sister prevented her brother from acting on his threats that day, but she felt compelled to alert Castellano's brother through Facebook, Frazier said. Three days later, Matthias shot Castellano three times, Frazier said.

During his opening statement, Matthias's public defender, Theodore Turnblacer, said "police rushed to judgment" in their "circumstantial case."

Turnblacer told jurors that the defense would produce a witness who stood on the porch of her apartment building after hearing shots around 4 a.m. and saw a "white guy" at a trash dumpster. Matthias is black.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.