Latest news with #Spicuzza
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
'ROT AND BURN': Man skips his sentencing for brutal murder of mother-of-four Uber driver
'ROT AND BURN': Man skips his sentencing for brutal murder of mother-of-four Uber driver Calvin Crew, left, was sentenced to life in prison for the killing of Christina Spicuzza, a Pittsburgh-area mother of four who was making a living as an Uber driver. (Credit: Handout) A Pennsylvania man convicted in February of the murder of a mother of four will spend the rest of his days behind bars. The sentencing of Calvin Crew, 26, was a formality inside a Pittsburgh courtroom on Monday as first-degree murder carries a mandatory life sentence in the state. Crew did not attend his sentencing. Christina Spicuzza was 38 years old when she was shot dead on Feb. 10, 2022 while making a living as an Uber driver. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement According to dashcam footage obtained by police and released by the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, Spicuzza picked up Crew that evening after his girlfriend ordered a ride. In the video, what appeared to be a routine ride turned into a kidnapping when Crew took out a gun and pointed it at Spicuzza's head. 'Keep driving,' Crew told her. Spicuzza asked why he was doing this. 'I have four kids,' she said. She then asked him to stop but Crew ordered her to continue driving. 'Do what I say and everything will be OK,' Crew said before he pulled down the camera. Spicuzza was reported missing early the next day by her partner, Brandon Marto, after she didn't return home. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Her body was found a day later as well as her vehicle. RECOMMENDED VIDEO Cindy Spicuzza, the victim's mother, said Crew deserved the death penalty but her family asked for mercy and advocated for life in prison. 'You have a life to live,' she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 'Christi does not.' Marto said his fiancee had been happy to spend time with her family and her Christian faith was important to her. 'She would want me to tell Calvin Crew he would be saved if he accepted Jesus Christ as his saviour,' he said. 'I want to tell him to rot and burn.' Crew was also convicted of kidnapping, robbery, carrying a firearm without a licence, inflicting serious bodily injury, theft of a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement At the sentencing hearing, Marto told Judge Edward J. Borkowski that the first years of his relationship with Spicuzza were rocky, but she showed him a way to a better life. 'When we first got together, I was half lost,' Marto told the judge. 'I was quite out of control, but she saw something in me.' Marto said he spent the next eight years being a better person than he was at the beginning of their relationship. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement 'I had a lifetime to make it right, and that was cut short,' he said. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala said in a statement that Spicuzza's death was a 'brutal senseless execution' following Crew's conviction in February. 'Sadly, this verdict cannot bring Christina back or change the tragedy her family has experienced with her loss, but we hope they are encouraged and find consolation in the justice served.'
CBS News
05-05-2025
- CBS News
Calvin Crew sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing of Uber driver Christina Spicuzza
Calvin Crew, the man convicted of killing Christina Spicuzza, a Pittsburgh-area Uber driver in 2022, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. Crew was not in the courtroom at his own request. The defense attorney spoke on his behalf, but the judge indicated in a private message that he maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the sentence. Spicuzza's mother, as well as other family members, gave victim impact statements at the sentencing. Earlier this year, a jury found Crew guilty of first-degree murder in Spicuzza's 2022 killing in Monroeville. He was also convicted of robbery, kidnapping, gun charges and tampering with evidence. Spicuzza was a mother of four whose family said she was working to earn extra money when she was kidnapped and murdered. Days before the trial began earlier this year, prosecutors said they would no longer be seeking the death penalty.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Everybody can take advantage of Wisconsin's public records law. Ask us how on Reddit
Sunshine Week is a nonpartisan collaboration among groups in the journalism, civic, education, government and private sectors that shines a light on the importance of public records and open government. Public records are one of the most powerful tools available to reporters — and the public. Now, we're lifting the curtain on how any member of the public can use Wisconsin open records law to shed light on how local and state government is working. On Monday at 12 p.m., Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigative reporter Mary Spicuzza and Wisconsin public records legal expert Tom Kamenick are teaming up to answer questions in a Reddit "Ask Me Anything" Q&A on r/wisconsin. Spicuzza is an investigative and political reporter who has filed hundreds of open records requests while covering state and local government. She led the team that was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for coverage of then-Gov. Scott Walker's move to sharply limit union powers. In 2022, Spicuzza and investigative reporter Cary Spivak used public records to expose fraud in a state program intended to prevent infant and maternal mortality. They filed records requests for audits, applications and Medicaid spending totals and found a surge in signs of fraud among prenatal care coordination companies. Kamenick is the president and founder of the Wisconsin Transparency Project, a law firm dedicated exclusively to enforcing the state's open records and open meetings law. He has litigated 45 access cases with a more than 90% win rate since starting the project in 2019. In one of Kamenick's recent cases, a Rock County circuit judge ruled that the School District of Beloit violated the law when it denied a request from a local resident for the email addresses on a district distribution list. The district had used the list to send newsletters promoting its $33 million referendum. Kamenick has worked with the Journal Sentinel on some cases. Wondering how to file a records request? Want to know what kind of unusual documents you can obtain? Curious about the current state of government transparency in Wisconsin? Join Spicuzza and Kamenick on Monday at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Reporter Mary Spicuzza and legal expert Tom Kamenick host Reddit AMA
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kennywood gives update on Steel Curtain ahead of opening day
Kennywood Park provided an update Wednesday on the Steel Curtain ahead of the start of its season next month. The park's General Manager, Ricky Spicuzza, said that work on the coaster is almost completed. In a video posted on social media, Spicuzza said that columns were delivered on the off-season and being installed to 'ensure the Steel Curtain is around and ready to thrill riders for many years to come.' Once that phase of work is complete, the maintenance team will add the two trains back onto the track and begin test runs. Spicuzza said they will be announcing an opening date for the coaster soon. Kennywood Park will open for the season on 412 Day, April 12. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
CBS News
05-02-2025
- CBS News
Trial of Calvin Crew, man accused of murder Uber driver, continues with ex-girlfriend's testimony
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The trial of Calvin Crew, the man accused of murdering Uber driver Christina Spicuzza in Monroeville two years ago, continued on Wednesday. His former girlfriend resumed her testimony saying the night of the alleged killing, Crew made a FaceTime call to her from inside a car, a car prosecutors believe was the one Spicuzza was driving before her death. Records indicate the time of the call was around 10:30 p.m. the night of the killing in February of 2022. Investigators believe Spicuzza was already dead by 10 p.m. Tanaya Mullen also told the jury that she noticed her gun was gone from the top drawer. Mullen said at one point after the alleged homicide, Crew told her to tell police she lost the gun. When asked if she would lie for Crew, Mullen said, "I wasn't going to lie for Calvin, I wasn't going to lie about anyone." Allegheny County detective testifies Allegheny County police detective William Herman also took the stand Wednesday. Herman testified his task in the investigation was to find any video evidence. Herman told the jury he used video from several places to track where Spicuzza's car was. He told the jurors the search for video revealed the car was parked at 504 Fourth Street in Pitcairn followed by a lone individual stepping out and walking away. Prosecutors contended that person was then-22-year-old Calvin Crew.
