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Staten Island Man Found Guilty of Murdering Wife, Prosecutors Say

By Nicholas Rizzi | July 21, 2015 2:10pm
 Jonathan Crupi (left) was found guilty by a jury of murdering his wife, Simeonette Mapes, inside their New Springville apartment in 2012, prosectors said.
Jonathan Crupi (left) was found guilty by a jury of murdering his wife, Simeonette Mapes, inside their New Springville apartment in 2012, prosectors said.
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STATEN ISLAND — A jury found former teacher Jonathan Crupi guilty Monday of murdering his wife inside their New Springville apartment in 2012, Acting District Attorney Daniel Master Jr. said.

Crupi, 33, was convicted after a five-week trial for murdering his wife, Simeonette Mapes, and faces up to 25 years in prison, Master said.

Her "parents have waited three years for the justice system to tell them what they’ve known in their hearts all along, that Jonathan Crupi is guilty of murdering their beloved daughter," Master said in a statement.

During the trial, prosecutors argued the couple's fights about Crupi's frequent visits to prostitutes and his failure to complete his master's degree eventually led to Mapes' murder. They said he even visited his "favorite prostitute" hours after he stabbed Mapes.

Several months before the murder, Crupi searched the Internet for "how to throat slash" and "what destroys DNA," prosecutors said.

On July 5, 2012, after an argument inside their Forest Hill Road apartment, Crupi pushed Mapes, 25, down a flight of stairs then stabbed her 15 times with a knife, prosecutors said.

To cover up the murder, prosecutors said Crupi ransacked the home to make it look like a burglar entered and murdered Mapes. Crupi then ran some errands and met up with a prostitute.

When he returned home he dialed 911 and faked shock at finding his wife dead, prosecutors said.

In November 2012, Crupi was arrested and charged with murder for the crime. At his arraignment, his former mother-in-law called him a "soulless demon" who never denied his guilt.

"He never reached out. He never once said he did not do this," Theresa Mapes previously told DNAinfo New York. "He never said, 'Mom, I did not do this.'"

Both Mapes and Crupi taught at the School for Classics and Academy of Thinkers, Writers and Performers in East New York, Brooklyn. Mapes taught social studies and Crupi was an English teacher.

Crupi is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Mario Mattei on Aug 11.