On April 5, an estranged husband and his six-month pregnant girlfriend were charged with killing his wife and hiding her body in a storage facility, reported the New York Post.
Before the body of Staten Island school teacher Jeanine Cammarata was hidden, her body was severely burned, according to police.
Jeanine’s husband, Michael Cammarata, 42, and his girlfriend, Ayisha Egea, 41, are being held without bond.
Michael Cammarata (in white) and GF Ayisha Egea are remanded in their court appearance today. Both charged with murder 2, concealment of human corpse, and tampering with evidence in death of Jeanine Cammarata whose charred body was discovered in SI storage unit. @NY1 pic.twitter.com/IOP9fDnQvf
— Van Tieu (@Van_Tieu) April 5, 2019
The two have been charged with second-degree murder, concealing a human corpse, and tampering with evidence, according to the Post.
Chief Dermot F. Shea of the New York City Police Department announced that Jeanine’s disappearance investigation had turned into a murder investigation on April 5.
UPDATE: The investigation into the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata is now officially a murder investigation. Working closely with @StatenIslandDA, we have arrested Michael Cammarata & Ayisha Egea, both charged with Murder 2° #jeaninecammarata pic.twitter.com/mLSd72wmhU
— Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) April 5, 2019
Jeanine and Michael had been separated for over two years prior to Jeanine’s disappearance, reported the Post. The husband and wife had a history of domestic violence incidents starting in May, 2016.
Jeanine, a mother of three, was last seen on March 30—less than two days after she served Michael with divorce papers, according to Staten Island Advance.
“It just doesn’t make sense to me. She was so eager to proceed,” Jeanine’s divorce lawyer, Eric Gansberg, told the Post. “She wanted to be with her children. I cannot imagine her just walking away.”
The troubled couple were expected at a family court hearing on April 1.
PERP WALK: Michael Cammarata, the estranged husband of the missing NYC mom whose charred body was found inside a Staten Island storage shed, is escorted by police after he was charged in his wife’s murder. https://t.co/bfgBOeCRWr pic.twitter.com/SwqXEWjcqB
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 5, 2019
‘This Is Not Her’
On April 1, a friend messaged Jeanine through Facebook. However, the friend, Jessica Pobega, later said that she did not believe the person replying to her message was her longtime friend, according to CBS2.
“I was like, ‘Call me right now, you need to call me right now, I need to hear your voice, I don’t believe you, I don’t believe it’s you,’” Pobega told CBS2. “I even asked when’s the last time I saw you, and the person couldn’t respond to it. They didn’t answer, they just kept saying, ‘I’m OK, I’ll call you soon.'”
READ THE TEXTS: Jessica Pobega tried to message her missing friend Jeanine Cammarata but questions who was answering from the other end. The 37-year-old Staten Island mother was last seen Saturday night and friends are desperate to find her… https://t.co/KzNlF6GF23
— WLNY (@WLNYTV) April 3, 2019
Pobega messaged to Jeanine’s phone for whoever was on the other end to contact someone now because she was going to call the police. But the person replied that they were with the kids and could not call.
Surveillance Video, Burned Body Found
The two alleged murderers appear to have killed Jeanine in their home at Rockaway Beach, reported the Post.
Jeanine’s body was found in the storage facility on Staten Island on April 4. Dental records were needed to identify Jeanine’s body that had been burned beyond recognition.
DEVELOPING: Aerial footage shows authorities at a Staten Island storage facility where a body was discovered and is now being investigated in connection with the disappearance of Jeanine Cammarata; her estranged husband is being held on an assault charge. https://t.co/ZCnCYAYMSq pic.twitter.com/5dD8go0bow
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 4, 2019
Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson confirmed the identity of the body on April 5, according to ABC News: “This young woman has been positively identified as Jeanine Cammarata.”
Police found her body in a large plastic bin, and around it, air fresheners were set up to apparently hide the smell of Jeanine’s body, Daily News reported.
Surveillance video of Michael leaving his apartment in Rockaway Beach with a large container was also obtained by police.
Michael also appeared in another video at the Staten Island storage facility unloading the container. A second person could be seen helping him unload the container from his car, believed to be Egea.
This is Ayisha Egea, who’s charged in the murder of Jeanine Cammarata, a Staten Island mother of three. Egea is dating Jeanine’s estranged husband Michael, who’s also charged in the murder https://t.co/JvAmfc1j2A pic.twitter.com/vWs7d7uwFY
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 5, 2019
