Della's Web: The Many Husbands of a Suburban Black Widow

338 Pages·2002·1.31 MB·English

by  Jones

DELLA’S WEB
Aphrodite Jones
Copyright © 2007 by Aphrodite Jones
Interior Design by Beautebook
Published by Crime Rant Books
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any
information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the
publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and
reviews.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
To the Reader
PART ONE
The Triangle
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14
PART TWO
The Scandal
15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22
PART THREE
The Good Wife
23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 - 32 - 33 - 34 - 35 - 36 - 37 - 38 - 39 -
40 - 41 - 42
PART FOUR
The Little Girl
43 - 44 - 45 - 46 - 47 - 48 - 49
PART FIVE
The Men
50 - 51 - 52 - 53 - 54 - 55 - 56 - 57 - 58 - 59 - 60 - 61 - 62 - 63 - 64 - 65 - 66 -
67 - 68 - 69 - 70 - 71 - 12 - 73 - 74 - 75 - 76 - 77 - 78 - 79 - 80 - 81 - 82 - 83 - 84
- 85 - 86 - 87 - 88 - 89 - 90
Epilogue
About the Author
For Janet
Acknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the support of so many
Cincinnatians, many of whom appear on the pages you read here, others whose
silent voices helped to add texture to this timeless story. In particular, I want to
thank the men who were brave enough to talk about the domestic violence they
suffered. This was not something they did lightly or easily. For them, it was a
necessary evil, something they talked about in order to bring this subject to light.
Through the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to have cooperation from
judges, prosecutors, and other lawmen and officials essential to the telling of a
true story. None have helped me more, however, than prosecutors Tom
Longano, Steve Tolbert, and Jerry Kunkel. I hope I did justice to these three men
in my portrayal of them, though I know that is almost impossible—the sweat and
anxiety these guys lived through was greater than anything they would ever
allow to be seen in a court of law.
I also need to thank Judge Richard Neihaus, Sergeant Thomas Boeing,
Hamilton County Coroner Carl L. Parrott, Tom Gould and Jerry Kosta of the
Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, and Lois Gorrasi, the receptionist for the
office of Hamilton County Prosecution Attorney Joseph T. Deters. Additionally,
many thanks to Guy Hild, of Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild, who spent countless
hours talking about his friend and client, Darryl Sutorius; and Michael Florez,
attorney-at-law, who allowed me to gain access to his client Olga Mello.
There are other people who cooperated with me whose names I did not use in
the text-mainly doctors and nurses—whose details about Dr. Darryl Sutorius and
his reputation in the medical community were key to my understanding of this
man’s life. I thank them for their generosity of time, and of spirit.
To my phone buddies—Beth Evans, Cheryl Sullivan, Scott Mello, and
Shawn Craig; my best buddy, Annette Ross; and my sweetheart, Jeff Myhre—
for being there, for listening, and for keeping me straight and sane. Without
realizing it, you are the people who influenced my style and my storytelling
voice in the pages that follow.
Then there’s Jeff Hilliard, who first told me about Della Dante Sutorius, and
John and Sue Aber, who rented me a place to live-thank you for making this
endeavor feasible. In addition, I thank my assistants, Louis Flores and Pamela
Wilfinger, who dealt with my demands for perfection and my need for things in
a rush.
In a work such as this, their timely contributions are absolutely critical, and
without them, this book would not exist.
As always, I’m grateful for the support and trust of members of the media—
specifically, Linda Vaccariello, senior editor of Cincinnati magazine, and TV
reporters Ann Alexander and Hagit Limor, who showed me news clips and
shared intimate details of their coverage of the breaking Sutorius saga.
To my agent, Matt Bialer of the William Morris Agency, a big huge kiss.
Again, Matt, I thank you for your wisdom and care, for guidance in leading me
through the ordeal of writing a real-life crime story. You will always be my
friend.
To my editor, Jane Cavolina, I thank you for your enthusiasm, and for the
significant structural suggestions. You helped me more than you know.
Of all those who helped me, however, no one took greater interest than
Deborah Sutorius. To me, she has become a true friend; I never expected it. In
return, she has asked people to write to petition the State of Ohio to keep Della
in jail forever. I certainly encourage that, and hope people will remember to do
so when Della comes up for parole. Although—at first—Deborah didn’t want
this book written, she came to see its potential value to all the men and women
out there who marry for the wrong reasons. Maybe this story will cause someone
out there to think—to prevent future marriage vows from becoming fatal. FYI,
here’s the address:
To Whom It May Concern
Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
1050 Freeway Drive North
Columbus, Ohio 43229
Re: Prisoner # W038992
“It is a trap for a man to dedicate
something rashly and only later to consider his
vows.”
Proverbs 20:25
To the Reader
This book is nonfiction. The story is true, the people are real, the dialogue
comes from recollections of the participants and has been cross-checked. I have
used pseudonyms for three of Della’s boyfriends whose names appear with
asterisks as follows: Sid Davis,* Jeff Freeman,* Brian Powell.* I did this to
protect the innocent.
My narrative is based on interviews with dozens of subjects who were kind
enough to share their stories. It is through their remembrances and thoughts that
I have been able to imagine Della, and re-create events as they actually
happened. I did manage, on more than one occasion, to interview Della face-to-
face. I believe I have remained faithful to the essence of her being. It is
worthwhile to note that she continues to deny her guilt regarding the death of
Darryl Sutorius. She did not speak about the threats she is said to have made to
her former husbands and lovers.
Though this is a work of nonfiction, I have taken certain storytelling
liberties, mostly having to do with the timing of events. I mention this even
though the alterations I have made are quite minor. As always, my books are
based on thousands of pages of court transcripts, police interviews, and
newspaper accounts.
While I’m on the subject of things being authentic, let me state for the record
that my name was given to me at birth. Aphrodite was the name of my mother’s
mother. I’m half Greek descent, half English. At times, I’ve had to bring out my
driver’s license to prove that, yes, I am for real. It’s not a stage name, not a pen
name, and I tell you this because people always ask.