'Forever broken': Giorgio Barresi's widow pleads for killer to come forward
Police say shooter was wearing a distinctive jacket
Giorgio Barresi's widow says his life was "stolen away" and is pleading for his killer to come forward.
Sonia Horta-Barresi appeared in a video shared by Hamilton police Tuesday, fighting back tears and asking for information about the man who gunned down her husband in the driveway of their Winona home on March 2.
"Our family is forever broken. A piece of our hearts is gone," she said. "I cry for the pain and emptiness that I feel and I cry especially for my children who at such a young age, will have to go on living without their dad, knowing he loved them so much and he will not be around for the beautiful milestones that are to come."
Police say Barresi, a 42-year-old father of three who worked as a real estate agent in Stoney Creek, was shot multiple times after being confronted by a single suspect in his driveway. The suspect then walked back to a vehicle parked nearby and drove away.
He died of his injuries after the trigger was pulled around 10:45 p.m. on March 2.
"We don't know why Giorgio was the target on March 2nd, but we know somebody does know," says Det. Sgt. Jim Callender in the video. "Giorgio's family deserves to know what happened."
In a media update Tuesday police released a few more details about the night Barresi was killed.
Investigators say the suspect arrived at the neighbourhood in a sedan that was then parked near the intersection of Portofino Place and Lido Drive.
Police believe at least one other person remained in the vehicle during the shooting. The car was last seen driving south down Lido.
During a phone interview Tuesday Callendar said police are still looking at a "multitude of motives" for the killing.
"Giorgio did have some historical ties to organized crime and it is a motive that is being explored in our investigation, but what I'm not able to say concretely is that that's the reason he was murdered," he explained.
The detective also acknowledged there are "similarities" between Barresi's death and recent deaths involving victims with connections to organized crime who were killed at home.
Newspaper clippings from 1999 reference a 22-year-old man named Giorgio Barresi who pleaded guilty to bookmaking, along with several other people. Pat Musitano was among those initially charged in connection with the multimillion-dollar betting ring, but his charges were withdrawn.
A Mafia expert also previously told CBC Giorgio Barresi had past ties to the Musitano crime family.
Still, the nature of the killing does not automatically mean it's mob-related, said Callender.
"I know a lot of people want to go down the route of whether it's [connected to] traditional organized crime or not, [but] Giorgio is still a person, a husband, a father, a good friend … and no matter what the motive was, nobody deserves what had happened to him. That's something that can't be lost in translation here," added the investigator.
'Nobody deserves that'
The police video includes a brief clip of some surveillance footage from the night of the shooting showing someone running past a basketball net and between two cars parked in front of the home.
Callender noted the suspect appeared to be wearing a distinctive jacket, something he said investigators hope will help identity whoever was there that night.
Police are still asking anyone with information about the shooting, suspects and the vehicle involved to contact them.
"We're looking for that piece of information hopefully somebody has out there ... on their conscience that they want to give us," said Callender. "They may think it's insignificant, but is going to be the piece that gives us that clear … motive as to why Giorgio was the target."
Horta-Barresi described her husband as a charismatic man who had a "beautiful heart" and "contagious" smile that could light up a room.
"He was a loving husband and devoted father. He didn't deserve what happened to him. He didn't deserve to have his life stolen away. Nobody deserves that," she said.
"I want the person responsible to come forward and speak for their actions. I am pleading from one parent to another, one spouse to another, one human being to another, to please help us. Come forward and help us find the individuals responsible for this tragedy."