True Crime with Kimbyr - Part 1: Family of Five Killed, Secrets Burned Away | The Morey Family Tragedy

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

In this chilling episode of True Crime with Kimbyr, Kimbyrleigha unravels the haunting story of the Morey family in Fishkill, New York. What began as a quiet January night in 2007 erupted into chaos when a house fire revealed a devastating truth—three young lives brutally taken before the flames ever touched them. Behind the image of a picture-perfect family, dark secrets unraveled, leaving a community shaken and searching for answers. Why did this tragedy happen, and what really lay beneath the surface of the Moreys’ seemingly ordinary life? Dive into the mystery with True Crime with Kimbyr. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was a bitterly cold night in Fishkill, New York, a town known for its quiet streets and family-friendly neighborhoods, but in the early morning hours of January 19th of 2007, the familiar stillness was shattered into complete chaos. Red and blue lights flashed, sirens filled the usually quiet street, as emergency vehicles cut through the thick clouds of smoke that were billowing from a two-story home on Route 82. People passing by stopped, some tried to help, and others were frozen, not only by the cold winter air, but by the sense of dread as they watch firefighters enter that house. But nothing, not the years of training, not the experience of fighting countless fires, nothing could have prepared them for what waited for them in those smoke-filled rooms.

As firefighters moved upstairs to the dense smoke, one firefighter's hand brushed against something. It was a victim. He quickly picked up the lifeless body into his arms and carried it out to the clear air. Once illuminated by the glow of the emergency lights, the horror became clear. It was a child. And to the fireman's horror, he knew he hadn't died from smoke or flames alone.

His small body was covered in wounds, a clear sign of a brutal and violent struggle. And before the first responders had a chance to recover from that shock of what they just discovered, another body was pulled out from inside, and then another. Each small, innocent body, with signs of unthinkable, violence and the horror didn't stop there. This was not an accidental fire. This was a murder. Hi everyone, welcome back to my channel and if you've never been here before, I am Kimberlea.

It's nice to finally meet you. I am sure that you like me have been scrolling through social and spotted one of those perfect families and you probably thought, wow, they must have it all or it must be nice. You know the ones with the pictures with matching sweaters, they're smiling, Maybe they have a dog in their picture, lounging by their feet. It's just picture perfect. We've already done cases here on my channel. We know all about what's going on behind all the filters and the hashtags. That things usually aren't as flawless as they seem.

And that's kind of the story with the Mori family. On the outside, Tony and Tina Mori looked like your classic American couple. Tony was the kind of dad who'd rather spend his weekends riding ATVs in the woods with his boys then do something like binge watch and Netflix. And Tina was bubbly. She was approachable. You've probably met those friendly cashiers, which she was. They always remember your coffee order at Starbucks. And she just had that energy about her. You felt seen and you would be drawn towards her and wanting to be her friend. Tina dreamed big. Law school was on her vision board right next to photos of her kids. She was a boy mom. Three boys. Tony Jr., Adam and Ryan completed their little suburban dream team, each with their own personalities and passions, of course. Football, baseball, cartoon. Just everyday kids doing everyday kid stuff. But let me go back just a little bit.

Manuel, who went by Tony Mori, was born on May 27th of 1973 to his parents Manuel Mori Jr. And Elaine Mori. Tina Collier, who would become his future wife, was born on May 29th of 1979 to Arlene and Donald Collier. Tony and Tina met in the early 90s, and they went on to build a life together, raising their three sons, passing on the family name,

They named their first son, Manuel, known as Tony Jr. He was born on July 10th of 1993. A few years later, on June 5th of 1996, they welcomed their second son, Adam. And then their youngest Ryan was born on October 3rd of the year 2000. The family lived in Fishkill, New York. It was exactly the sort of town

that you would picture when someone says, low-key. We're talking about a main street that looked like it was out of something like the Gilmore Girls, small shops, local cafes, the annual will pumpkin patch or two with a population of just under 23,000 people. Fishkill felt comfortably safe. The kind of place where you move when you're ready to slow down from city life. You're ready to start a family and find a nice little home with a backyard big enough for

cookouts, but small enough that you won't spend all weekend mowing it. And that's exactly what Tony wanted. And the more he's rented exactly that type of place from their landlord Tom. It was located at 203 Route 82. and neighbors quickly embraced this new family. Sometimes it's true. The ATV rides would go on a little late into the night, and the occasional summer barbecue got a bit noisy.

But it was nothing that wasn't forgivable with a quick, oh, sorry about that, like a friendly neighbor would do, and they would wave, and everything would be forgotten. The mores were seen as good people, reliable tenants, just another normal family making ends meet. So let me tell you more about the boys. The light of Tony and Tina's lives. Tony Jr., the oldest, was outgoing.

He was athletic. He played football and he wrestled. Adam, the middle child, was the funny one, cracking jokes, and always making sure that everyone around him was laughing. He loved baseball. And then Ryan, the baby of the family, was the gentle one. The sweet little kid who still loved Saturday morning cartoons and looked up to his older brothers. The boys shared an especially close bond with their grandfather,

Grandpa Manuel, Tony's dad. It was the classic grandparent who loved spoiling his grandkids, pulling goofy pranks like, I'm going to tell you this one was funny to me, who would pop out his fake teeth to scare them. And back then, the movie Alien was really big. And Tony Jr. used to freak out when his grandpa did that to him. But Adam, he was unfazed. He was tough as nails. He would just laugh.

And this grandfather, he affectionately called his grandsons at the Three Stooges, always in a mischief and always keeping him on his toes. When Tony's mommy lane passed away in July of 2005 after battling a long illness, it was those boys who kept Manuel's spirits up. He was staying in the hospital by his wife's side for two months, and he had this special spot in his heart for little Ryan, probably because, as the youngest, Ryan was usually picked on by his older brothers, and Grandpa Manuel would always be on Ryan's side. By the end of 2005, Tony was 33 years old and Tina was 13. and their sons were growing up fast. Tony Jr. was 13.

Adam was 10 years old and Ryan was six. Tony Jr. was enrolled at Van Wick Jr. High School, while Adam and Ryan both attended Brinkerhoff Elementary together. Well, for a while, things seemed stable. But Tony wasn't content with just skating by financially. He wanted more for his family. So around 2006, he tried starting his own business with one of his closest friends, Chris Murphy.

And guess what? It didn't pan out. It left Tony even more frustrated than before. Afterward, he briefly worked for a relative, but then things went badly with that venture as well. And don't they always say, don't go into business with your friends or your family? Even when the relative offered Tony another shot at a job,

Tony, he was stubborn. He was known for that. And he was known to be prideful, so he refused. But that was probably a good thing. He was determined to figure things out himself. He was the type, who would rather grind it out alone than depend on anyone for a handout. But they were still trying to keep up appearances,

acting from the outside that everything was fine. I feel like sometimes people do that because they figure, if I fake it till I make it, it'll work out. But the Mori Troubles had already started creeping in quietly around 2005 before Tony tried to go into business with Chris. And then things just snowballed and fast. Tony and Tina had fallen behind on rent, something that their landlord Tom couldn't just ignore forever.

Eviction papers were looming, and nobody in Fischkel even had a clue. The family had always lived modestly. There wasn't like designer clothing or flashy cars, but now even basic things were becoming hard to manage. And the money stress, that can hit a relationship really hard. Even the strongest relationships. The Mories were still going to Little League games, school events. Tina would even share really cheerful posts on MySpace.

It was MySpace back. then around the Christmas time that year, just the family, quietly playing games together, trying to hold on to everything that was normal. All throughout 2006, things were not getting better, though. The landlord began noticing the house wasn't being maintained anymore the way it was before. He began actually considering evicting this family. He didn't want to, but they were not paying rent at all. He kept trying to give them one more chance. And Tina, she was still working as a cashier, but Tony had to take on a bunch of odd jobs wherever he could, and it still wasn't enough.

The boys were even feeling some tension. Now, they didn't know what was going on, and they couldn't quite understand exactly what was wrong since they were still young, but Tony Jr. kept busy with school and sports. Adam was still making everybody laugh, and little Ryan still doing his fun things with his friends and cartoons, and each coping with their own things in their own way.

They could probably sense that something wasn't quite right at home, even if nobody openly talked about it, because there were signs. Tony started drinking more. He was staying out much later. He was even dabbling in substances, kind of to take the edge off of his stress. And Tony thought, it's okay. It's all going to be temporary. It's something that he could manage.

And he kept it hidden to protect his kids from seeing that side of him and protect his family's reputation. But in a small town, like Fishkill, people talk and whispers were swirling around what could be happening at that house on Route 82. All the while, Tina was caught between hope and reality. Her life revolved around her boys, their safety and their futures. But Tony was repeatedly staying out late and partying, seemingly not caring about the family, and she was left questioning everything. Tina began confiding in close friends and family

that she might consider actually leaving Tony until he cleaned up his act and maybe got back on on his feet. She talked about possibly relocating out of state, getting some distance, and showing Tony what he was risking if she and the boys were gone. Tina dreamed of going to law school, but now that felt like it had more urgency. It might be a ticket to something bigger in life, a way to build stability. The life that she envisioned wasn't this chaotic and unstable. She wanted something better, and I don't think anyone can blame her. Their marriage wasn't explosive, It definitely wasn't, you know, ending, but it was afraid. There was resentment growing.

There was stress and tension between them. Tony knew that he was messing up. He knew that Tina was growing distant, but his pride and his need to escape with substances was becoming a growing addiction, and that kept him trapped. But no one could have imagined what would happen in the new year in 2007. The new year is supposed to be a fresh start, a new beginning,

making goals and reaching them. But just over two weeks into the new year on January 19th of 2007, just past 3 a.m., multiple frantic 911 calls were coming in, describing flames shooting from the back of the Mori's home. You would think that most people would be asleep at that hour, but two drivers passing that house called in. The first call was from Danielle Alamo. She spotted the flames first at about 3.15 a.m.,

and then another driver passing by on her way to work that was changing, Wyden, she called in after seeing the blaze just moments later, and she pulled over immediately to call 911 at 3.20 a.m. She bravely ran to that house, started pounding on the doors and the windows, screaming desperately to wake up whoever was inside. Multiple fire departments responded, and upon arrival, the back at the house was engulfed in flames. Smoke was heavy throughout the entire structure.

The firefighters decided to make entry through the front of the house that wasn't as engulfed and work their way up the stairs. The conditions grew increasingly intense, though. There was thick smoke everywhere, the heat was intensifying, and visibility dropped. They had to use oxygen masks, and as they walked slowly through the dark smoke,

firefighter Ronald, Arego, and Chief Brandon Knapp made their way to the stairs of that home, and they began climbing up to the second floor. And when they got to that landing, they could see two doors. One was on the left. and the other was on the right. So they decided to split up. Knapp went to the right and Arrigo went to the left.

He'd actually had to crawl on the floor in order to make it into that bedroom. And then he bumped his head on the bed frame. Then he used his flashlight to illuminate through the smoke and that's when he could make out the shape of a small body on the bed. His instincts told him this was a child's bedroom. He grabbed onto the lifeless body and he quickly made his way back out to the front of the house,

while screaming, we've got a body. As Arrigo was lying the body down in the ground, he sees that his jacket is covered in spots of blood. Now, that is not normal. That was the first sign that something wasn't right. He begins visually examining the child's body. He's wearing pajamas and had obvious signs that he was deceased and he was covered in bloody wounds. He would later be identified as 13-year-old Tony Jr. This was a fairly large house. Multiple bedrooms and of course the firefighters are thinking, if there's a child inside, there's most likely at least a mother and a father inside, possibly other children. So now there's even more panic to get back in that home and find out if there are any survivors or sadly any other victims.

So they make their way back to that same bedroom and they find a second child lying right underneath one of the windows. Now this child was also sadly already deceased. And when he was brought out of that house, he too showed signs of trauma. This was 10-year-old Adam Worry. It's sad. This is so hard to visualize because it's such a nightmare. Even for seasoned firefighters, there were still fire coming out of this house. It's hot. They can feel it on their bodies, even though they are protected. And they can't see. They're trying to scour a layout of a house that they are not familiar with to try to make sure that they're not leaving anyone behind. It's chaotic, it's stressful.

The adrenaline is rushing through their bodies, but as they're searching on the first floor, that's when they discover a third body in the dining room. It was unbelievable, but to their absolute horror, it was a third child, even smaller than the two before. They pulled him out of the house as fast as they could, lying this little boy down in the ground. And these firefighters were on their knees

and emotionally affected by what they were seeing. they were seeing. Because it was obvious that all three of these boys had not died from mere smoke inhalation. Someone had inflicted multiple wounds on their bodies. They had never in their career seen anything like this. They weren't even done yet. The police were called into assist since they knew they had a murder scene, and one of the investigators that came out was Detective Terence Dwyer from the Major Crimes Unit. And when he got to that scene, the roads were already blocked off by fire trucks. A number of firefighters were trying to finish putting out the actual flames of that fire, and there were red tarps on the ground that were covering three child's

bodies. Detective Dwyer's job was to figure out what went on in that house. So while the firefighters are still dealing with the scene, he starts going door to door to the neighbor's houses in the middle of the night asking if they knew who lived at this residence. That's when he was informed that this was the Mori family. At this point, they're aware of who these residents are. So they know how many people were living there, and the parents, Tina and Tony are still missing. They hadn't found adult bodies inside the house.

The detective comes back over and he explains to the firefighters that there are supposed to be two more people, so they go back in, trying to do an even more thorough search. Now that the fire is out, the smoke is starting to dissipate, And a little while later, they realize that there is indeed a fourth victim inside. And this appeared to be maybe the family room, the living room of the house. However, this body was so badly charred, it was unrecognizable. They didn't know if it was a male or a female, so they don't know if this is Tina or Tony

or somebody else entirely, but they do recover a fourth body. And this just added to the trauma and the shock that the fire personnel was dealing with in that moment and many of them who were interviewed about this said they'd never seen anything like this before or since in their entire careers the fourth body would later be identified as 28-year-old tina mori now the only person unaccounted for was her 34-year-old husband tony when investigators went through the house they didn't see any obvious signs of force entry fire and smoke damage was everywhere but it was clear the worst of the damage of the house was concentrated to the back, exactly where Tina had been found.

Upstairs where the boys were discovered, blood covered a large area of the bedroom, and lying right there in the middle of the room was an axe handle. Senior investigator Thomas Martin immediately noticed something else. It was critical. A bloody handprint had been pressed into one of the walls of the children's bedroom.

So he takes pictures of this because he thinks this is key evidence. And outside in the snow, things got even more more suspicious. There were fresh tire marks and a really weird patch of melted snow like a car had been sitting there just parked and idling for long enough to melt through the ice. It was clear that someone had taken their time outside. So was it Tony and had he fled? And about 20 minutes after the fire at the Mori House, there was another frantic 911 call. This time it was a report of a burning vehicle less than a half a mile away. The car was parked off of Lamala Lake near Route 82 and firefighters rushed to that scene and they found a 2003 Kia that was

totally engulfed in flames. They thought this had to be connected because here you have a fire at a house and then you have a car fire not too far away. And when the fire was fully put out, luckily there was no one inside. But investigators quickly run the license plates and it does come back registered to Manuel Mori, which is Tony's father. So searching the immediate area around the car, the officers found several 22-caliber rifle casings, and this was actually right underneath the seats, and that's suspicious. And then a bloody pair of gloves that were tossed nearby in the snow. So this is now deemed a second crime scene, and whoever left this critical evidence behind must have assumed that they would be destroyed in the fire. But what people

don't usually know about fires, they don't always destroy evidence as effectively as you would think, especially when someone is rushed and they're panicked, and they're trying to maybe escape unseen in their first glance with four family members now dead. Tony know where to be found, his dad's car burning on the side of the road? It seems possible Tony might have done the unthinkable. Maybe he was a father that snapped, killed his entire family, and then drove away, torched the car to hide the evidence. But it didn't take long for investigators to realize that that theory didn't add up. That's because of what the medical examiner discovered back at the initial crime scene at the Mori home. I've never, ever heard anything like this before, but the medical examiner got on the scene.

He begins examining each and everybody that had been recovered. And as he's examining Tina, something isn't right. As explained, her remains were so badly charred, they were unrecognizable. But as the medical examiners try and understand some of the irregular, that is when he realizes, this wasn't just one person. It wasn't just Tina. It was two people that were embracing each other. They were holding on to one another.

They were hugging together when they were burned or when they were killed and then burned. This was Tina and Tony in a final deadly embrace, which is so sad. It was described as them being fused together in the medical report, and it made it appear And it made it appear as though it was one victim, but it was two. And I just found that to be so heartbreaking.

And that realization shifted the focus away from Tony. Now they have to realize all five members of the Mori family were confirmed dead. And a second fire is now linked to this case. They know that it wasn't Tony that drove the car there. So now they're facing a far more complex situation with so many unanswered questions. Now, I don't want to move too far ahead because I do think it's important to in detail as much as I can hear when I do these public videos that are censored. I want to explain to you what the medical examiner Dr. Carrie Ryber reported about each one

of these victims and the extent of their injuries and causes of death. Tina had to be identified through dental records due to the state of her remains. They had been burned so badly in the fire that it was actually impossible to fully trace the path of the bullets or fragments found in her body, but it was determined she had been shot three times, once in the back of the head, once through the roof of her mouth and once in the chest. And that is just terrible. Her husband, Tony, sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the neck. And just like in Tina's case, the condition of his body made it very difficult to determine the bullet's exact trajectory. Their oldest son, 13-year-old

Tony Jr. had been stabbed more than 80 times, yes, 80, 80, 8, 0. And many of the wounds were classified as defensive. So that little boy fought so hard. Both. Tony Jr. and his 10-year-old brother Adam died from multiple stab wounds to the face and the neck. Six-year-old Ryan had a combination of injuries. He had been struck in the head with a blunt object, and he had also been stabbed. The doctor noted that the carbon monoxide level in Ryan's blood indicated he had still been breathing when the fire was spreading through that home. So it was the fire that contributed to his death in addition to his other injuries,

which pointed to him still, sadly, being alive and suffering while no aid was being rendered. And that is so sad. These children were beautiful. This beautiful family. This whole family is gone in just one night. And this next part just adds to the horror and the heartbreak. The very next morning at 9.30 a.m., Tony Jr.'s middle school called his emergency contact, which was Tina's mother Arlene.

He did not show up for school that day, so they wanted to figure out what was going on. And Arlene had no idea that her daughter and her daughter's entire family were dead. And can you imagine because I can't. A staff member is on the phone and they had mentioned that students had been talking, saying that the Mori family's home had burned down the night before. And at that point, the details that were swirling around were rumors. They were circulating. They were unclear.

But children at multiple schools in that area had heard that someone died in a fire that morning on Route 82. But there was no confirmation provided. It wasn't until after 3 p.m. that the school district sent an email to parents and to guardians, stating that a family in the district had been affected by the fire. And I understand they don't have a lot of details. Police are still investigating. This is a major crime, though.

So to me saying that they had been affected by a fire minimized it so much. But understand, their goal was just to notify families. Something was going on. They needed to be aware of that. But this is what. what's going on when Arlene gets that call, there had been nothing concrete told to anybody. She was already trying to get in touch with her daughter and her son-in-law, but had received no answer on either of their house phones or their cell phones. She did think that was kind of strange.

As a matter of fact, other family members of the Mori family were hearing things, but no one had facts in. For example, Tina's cousin Corrine, she was in high school and she heard that something had happened at the house the night before. Her father, Tina's uncle, was. so concerned, he and other family members actually drove to the New York State Police Barracks hoping to learn what was going on. I can't imagine people that you love being deceased and being so out of the loop. Tina's mother and her husband were sitting there waiting to speak to investigators and Arlene was so sick of waiting.

She told them she was going to the hospital because if her family was there, that's where she needed to be. And sadly, we know that's not where she was going to find them. They were at the morgue. And an officer had to stop her in the hallway of the police station and say, there is nothing more that you can do for them. And she responded, yes, I can't, even if it's just to hold their hand. And that breaks my heart because we know more than she does at this moment.

You're not going to be able to do that. So eventually that officer was forced to give her that heart-wrenching news that all five members in the Mori family were dead. I can't understand what they were waiting for. I do 100% realize investigators have to handle these investigations with care. But this is a family member. A family member that went 24 hours almost without hearing from other family members and not knowing where their grandchildren are,

where their own daughter and son-in-law were. So to me, it seems insensitive. Even if it's part of your investigation, I really think those notifications need to be done immediately. Because if not, you're going to get reporters out there, you're going to have news stories spun a certain way. That's not a way for a loved one to learn that someone has passed, especially when it's such a horrific manner.

When she did get the news, as to be expected, Arlene collapsed on the floor in grief. Right there, where she stood, because she couldn't handle it. She called her sister, Tina's aunt, and told her through tears that they were all gone. And in the days that followed, Arlene described feeling completely lost without them, saying that they had been her life. And speaking of these children, being someone's life, remember, there was Tony's father, Grandpa Manuel.

You know how close he was to his grandsons. He had worked a late-night shift the night before when the fire was raging at his son's home with no idea what was going on. And the next morning, two investigators show up at his door and inform him that his 2003 Kia, registered in his name, had been found burning on the side of the road. He explained that he gave that he gave that car to his son back in 2005. And at first, he's completely confused about this visit.

And then one of the investigators told him there had been another fire at the Mori home. And Manuel didn't immediately make the connection. He actually responded pretty casually with, so? So the investigator had to tell him, no one survived. And this news was coming just a year and a half after he lost his wife Elaine. He was completely stunned. This was before he knew that Not only had they died, but they had been murdered. Everyone was in shock. Tony's former business partner, Chris Murphy, couldn't imagine who would have wanted to harm this family,

especially the children. He said that while Tony wasn't physically large, he was strong. He was someone you wouldn't mess with, and he wouldn't go down easily without a fight. The landlord Tom had to be notified because this was his residence that he owned, and he was just as shocked,

especially at the fact that the children had been killed. He described, the killing as mind-boggling. And it even was to detectives. More and more people in the community were becoming aware what happened. Kids at the school that the boys attended were finding out, and the school district had to arrange grief counselors to be available for them. And meanwhile, the investigation had to be kicked into high gear. And back of the house, they meticulously sifted through every inch of debris and all through the soot and all of the damage. And in the downstairs family room where Tony and Tina's

bodies were discovered. Debris was examined by Bradley Brown, who was a forensic fire investigator, and he determined at that point that accelerants had been used in this area to ignite the fire, and that's why the back of the house was burning so intensely. They knew from the injuries to the victim's bodies that were looking for a knife, as well as a firearm, but they did not find those weapons inside the home. From the injuries being knife wounds and there being so much blood, especially in the boy's bedroom, the investigators considered that the killer may have sustained cuts or wounds during the attack. So they began calling local hospitals to see if anyone recently sought treatment or those type of wounds. And they also asked the public to report

if they'd seen anyone with unexplained injuries. You know, if you see a friend and their palm is cut or they have like a big gash on them, you probably need to report it. And in the days that followed, the outside of the Mori home became a memorial site. Along the wooden fence that lined the property, people were leaving flowers, yellow daisies, red roses, and white carnations with pink-tipped edges and photographs of the children were attached to handwritten notes. One read, we love you, you will be missed. Another said, we will always love you. You are forever and always in our hearts. On Thursday, January 25th, with permission from the police, the badly damaged home was actually demolished. I know what you might be thinking. It was a crime scene.

They're not done with the investigation, so why are they demolishing this house? But they assured the community and the family that they already gathered all significant again evidence from that home. And around that time, America's most wanted, opened an online file about this case, and it was also featured on Anderson Cooper 360. They were just desperate for information. And one key lead came from a New York State Trooper

who had been patrolling near the road of the house on Route 82 the morning of the fire. The trooper's vehicle was equipped with a mobile plate hunter. This is just a license plate reader, it's a recognition system that continuously scans and then takes pictures of license plates, that this car can see. So right in its field of view.

Investigators pull all that data, they match it with GPS records, allowing them to determine when the patrol car was near the Mori residence, and what vehicles had been in that area around the same time that the fire started, which would have been shortly before 3 a.m. The system had captured thousands of images,

and they were reviewing them, but this was a slow and meticulous process. Route 82, it's a main road through Fishkill, New York, and investigators began interviewing a bunch of motorists, who had been in the area during the early morning hours to determine if they had seen or heard anything unusual while driving to work or just passing through. During these interviews, they eventually spoke with someone who was familiar with the Mori family. And that individual described Tony as someone who was struggling with alcohol and substances and may have been involved in selling them. So they theorized he might have gotten involved with the wrong crowd and they need to dig deeper.

The investigators then go speak to Tony's father. He acknowledged he was aware that his son was involved with substances, but he did not believe that Tony had been selling anything. Tina's mom also confirmed that the couple have been struggling financially. And for many people involved in the early stages of this investigation, this was the first time that they heard anything that could be perceived as negative about Tony. It's important to note that struggling with substance use or addiction, it's not automatically a character flaw.

It's not that simple. I've done other cases about addiction before, and I think it deserves a lot more understanding than judgment. Still, this information was part of Tony's victimology, which is very important and piecing together who he might have been close to. It's not to villainize the victim, only to understand their lifestyle,

where they go on a regular basis, who they come in contact with. And then a key breakthrough came on January 29th. Just 10 days. after the murders. A local teenager named Ronald Labarge had been playing hockey on a frozen lake. This was Lake Duchess. He was with his uncle and his cousin, and then he just lost track of his puck. And while looking for it near the shoreline, he came across a knife lying in the weeds. Ronald described it as bloodied and a Winchester hunting knife. He of course shows it to his uncle Robert,

who tells him leave it where it is, exactly where you found it, and they immediately called the police. A fish kill officer responded to that scene, and the knife was secured as evidence. Now, given the location, and obviously that there's blood on it, it could be many things, right? It could be a hunting situation where it is animal blood, sure. But the home where the Moris lived and had burned down and they had been murdered in was only about a 20-minute drive from this lake. So they had to have a dive team come in and conduct a search of that lake. And that is when they soon discovered multiple items in that water.

in that water. Among these items were a pair of men's boxer-style underwear, which were decorated with hearts and Hershey Kisses. They also found would appear to be bloodstains on those boxers. They retrieved a metal lockbox, a firearm, a pair of blue pants, and a pair of long underwear. These items were sent to the New York State Police Crime Lab in Albany for testing. At this point, detectives had a mountain of evidence but still no clear suspect. However, the lockbox was a was identified as belonging to Tony Mori. Those people that were close to him knew that he kept it under his bed. Now there's a connection.

Someone had tried to hide this evidence and stolen this lockbox from the Mori house. Without forced entry, they believed whoever had done this had been welcomed into this home. Maybe it was someone that they trusted. So naturally, they started looking at everyone who had been close with this family. And that is when the investigation takes a turn towards a teenager, named Francis who goes by Frankie Cannon. Frankie was only 18 years old. He was the kind of kid that hangs out around the skate parks, blasting music on his headphones.

He had a really tough upbringing. He bounced between different schools because he would get in trouble and he would have minor run-ins with the law. But despite his struggles and maybe because of them, Tina had taken Frankie under her wing treating him like another son. He was sleeping on their couch,

eating dinner at their dinner table and basically living in their home during the weeks leading up to the murders. Now, in any small town, you know that rumors spread quickly. And as the community heard whispers about Frankie's troubled past, his small burglaries, impulsive life choices,

his close proximity to substances, they couldn't help but wonder, had Tina's kindness, tragically gotten her and her entire family killed? Could Frankie, a troubled teen with a really rough past, gone to do something so horrific, to a family that had shown him so much generosity. Well, detectives were quick to dig very deeply into Frankie's whereabouts around the time of the murders.

They learned, yes. He had a reputation, not exactly as a violent person, but he did make a lot of bad decisions. So investigators pulled Frankie's records through the county database, and his name was flagged in their system just three days before the murders on January 16th. He had been arrested for breaking into a high school. He said it was a prank gone wrong, and it landed him in California. In the first glance, detectives felt pretty disappointed. This meant that Frankie had an airtight alibi. He had been locked up when the Moris were murdered. He was under constant supervision.

There was impossible for him to be able to get out and physically commit this crime. But even though Frankie couldn't have personally carried out the attack, the detective still wondered, could he be involved in another way? Could he have provided information to someone else? Maybe telling the real killer that the real killer that the family had this lockbox. At this point, we don't know what's in it, but usually in a lockbox, you know, there's probably going to be cash and valuables. Maybe since he knew the family's routine,

he gave information to someone very dangerous. So they brought Frankie from his jail cell in for questioning. He was nervous and he was defensive at first. He quickly opened up, though. He was very emotional about these murders. And he told detectives, yeah, he knew that Tony had this hidden lockbox under his bed. It was full of cash and he says cocaine. So this was the first that they were hearing about an illicit substance like that. Frankie said Tony was careful. He never did it in the house. He never let the children or Tina know about it. And he tried his best in Frankie's words to keep his family out of the messy part of his life. And Frankie swore. He never ever told anyone about the lockbox. But what did he mean by Messi?

Well, Frankie didn't have full details, but he assumed Tony, because of his addiction, was possibly with a harsh crowd. And Frankie, since he had been staying at the house, knew and mentioned to detectives, that Tony would throw parties when the kids were with their grandparents, and not everyone that came over was a good person. Let's just put it that way.

And as the Frankie theory that he might have done this or told someone about, you know, the lockbox unfolded, Investigators were going deeper into his personal life, his network, interviewing friends, neighbors, other teens. They were known to hang out around the Mori household. And each conversation seemed really promising at first. But ultimately, they would hit a dead end. Frankie might have been flawed, but he was genuinely devastated

about the loss of this family. It was like his own family. And that's when they realized that theory, it was out. It wasn't Frankie. They were back to square one. They had nothing but more questions. If it wasn't Frankie, who else had close access to the Mori family? Who else could have known about the lockbox, his addiction,

and Tony's vulnerable financial state? And what was the motive? Was any of that a motive? Well, one thing was for sure, Tony definitely lived a secret life that his wife and kids knew nothing about. But they wondered, did Tony's closest friends know? I mean, as Frankie said, he would do these things with people,

Because they were partying together. So investigators asked around. And among the people, names that came up in conversation was a guy named Charlie Galeo. Now, Charlie was practically a family member. It was one of Tony's oldest friends going back all the way to junior high. Friends and neighbors described Charlie and Tony as inseparable.

Growing up, they would spend countless hours together. They would ride ATVs. They would grill burgers in the backyard, swap stories about their life around bonfires. I mean, they had the quintessential, the epitome of like a long friendship from childhood. Charlie wasn't just a buddy. He was like a brother to Tony.

So detectives wanted to ask him questions because Charlie would know a lot about his friend. Maybe he would know who could have done this. So they do a casual check-in, which is completely normal, nothing else, nothing major. They just go over to Charlie's house and he's looking rough. He's disheveled, he's glassy-eyed.

But he just found out that his close friend died. in this horrific manner, I mean, what would you expect? It was clear he heard the news and he was still shaken. But remember when I told you that they were looking for someone with a wound? That's when they noticed something. And it concerned them. There was a fresh cut on Charlie's forehead. It was kind of at the top of his head, right?

So they asked about it. And Charlie explained he had been out riding his ATV through some brush. He caught a branch right in the face. And that's plausible in the face. in Fishkill, where ATV rides that's common, there's rugged trails, they're everywhere. But they had to ask him, well, were you wearing a helmet? Because the location of the cut didn't quite sit well with detectives. It was high on his forehead, exactly where a helmet would have protected him. Charlie said he was wearing a helmet. So detectives without making a big

fuss about it, politely asked, can we see the helmet? I mean, what kind of helmet wouldn't have anything right there, but you never know. Charlie hands it over without any hesitation at all. It's a motorcycle style helmet, but it fully covers his forehead. So they're like taking notes of this. Like that's an inconsistency. How did a brand scratch him through a helmet? Or was he lying about wearing it? Because guess what? It is illegal not to wear a helmet when you're operating or riding an ATV in New York. Both the operator and the passenger on ATV are required to wear a Department of Transportation approved helmet. So detectives then asked Charlie where he had been the night of the murders. And again, without hesitation, Charlie explained what he did that night.

Him and a good friend, Mark Sorano, had been drinking beers and hanging out at Charlie's place. So Mark was another local guy. Everyone knew him. He was equally low profile. He was a hard worker. He was a sanitation worker. And detectives decide to visit Mark soon afterward to confirm Charlie's story. And Mark said, it was true. He spent the entire night at Charlie's house.

They were relaxing, drinking beers, maybe having a little too many beers that night, but they were absolutely nowhere near the Mori residents. He wanted to make that clear. And their stories matched up.