Vincent “Vince” Marinello admitted writing the list investigators found in his trailer. He disputed what it meant.
Case brief
Metairie / Jefferson Parish, Louisiana · 2006
- Recorded outcome
- Vincent Marinello convicted; appeal affirmed 2010; died in custody 2020
Key moments
People in this case
- Vincent Marinello
Convicted of second-degree murder
Photo at source · WBRZ · published photograph
Prosecutors called it a checklist associated with the murder of his estranged wife, Mary Elizabeth “Liz” Marinello. He said he had written it afterward to organize information that would establish his innocence.
Its references to a weapon, clothing, a bicycle and a mustache became part of a case in which the identity of a disguised cyclist mattered.
A predictable appointment
Liz was shot in the parking lot of the Metairie Towers office building on August 31, 2006. She died in the early hours of September 1.
She had been attending a regularly scheduled therapy appointment. Her estranged husband knew that routine because he had previously joined sessions.
Liz was pursuing a divorce. Her lawyer had also prepared an amended petition raising a question about the validity of the marriage, based on the allegation that Vince had not been divorced from a previous wife when they married.
The Louisiana appellate opinion [1] recounts how investigators examined both the couple’s dispute and the movements around the parking lot.
A cyclist dressed for different weather
Witnesses described a man wearing layers of clothing despite the August heat. Some noticed facial hair that appeared artificial. After shots were heard, a witness saw a man leaving on a bicycle.
Security footage showed a person moving around the parking area before the shooting. Other witnesses described seeing a cyclist in the vicinity on earlier days.
Vince told police he had driven to friends’ home in Mississippi. Investigators checked that account against telephone records and other evidence.
They also learned that he had purchased a mustache shortly before the crime. He acknowledged the purchase but said he had wanted to change his appearance, not disguise himself for a killing.
Three minutes in a parking lot
The surveillance sequence gave investigators a clock, although it did not provide a clear portrait of the killer. The court describes a figure in the parking area at about 3:30 p.m., moving toward Liz's car at 3:53. Liz left her appointment at 3:56. The shooting followed at approximately 3:57. Witnesses then saw a man escaping on a bicycle. These observations could be compared with a routine Vince already knew: Liz regularly attended the Thursday appointment, and he had accompanied her before. [1]
The outfit attracted attention because it seemed wrong for the heat. Witness descriptions of a beard and layered clothing became more significant when investigators checked a New Orleans wig shop. On August 22, nine days before the shooting, Vince had bought a false mustache there. He acknowledged the purchase but said he had wanted to change his appearance and had discarded it because he disliked it. Buying a disguise was therefore established; using that particular item during the murder was an inference the prosecution asked jurors to draw from the surrounding evidence. [1]
An alibi with room inside it
Vince said he had driven from the New Orleans area to friends in Byram, Mississippi. Their account of his arrival around 6 p.m. supplied a genuine destination, but investigators questioned whether the trip excluded his presence at the shooting. Telephone records and travel timing were examined against both stories. The issue was the interval before his arrival, not whether the friends had invented seeing him. [1]
His loaner Ford Taurus also drew scrutiny. Witnesses described difficulty getting a bicycle into a car, and investigators examined scratches on the vehicle. Testing on the driver's door armrest and steering wheel produced presumptive positive results for gunshot residue. “Presumptive” matters: the result was not a unique identification of the murder weapon or proof of when residue arrived. The prosecution presented those observations alongside the disguise purchase, timeline and writings, while the defense challenged the connections. [1]
The handwritten dispute
An investigator testified that the list contained case-specific information, including material not yet released publicly.
The prosecution drew attention to entries concerning a gun, a bicycle, clothing and facial hair, as well as a diagram of the location.
Vince offered a different explanation. He said the document recorded his understanding of the investigation and was intended to help prove that police had the wrong man. He pointed to a reference to the sheriff as consistent with an intention to contact him.
The jury had to decide which account best fitted the evidence. Handwriting ownership was not the principal dispute; purpose and timing were.
What the defense said was missing
The defense challenged eyewitness reliability and emphasized items investigators had not recovered, including the weapon and the bicycle allegedly used.
Vince also disputed the claim that the marital conflict supplied a compelling motive. He argued that the divorce was no more contentious than many others.
Those objections required an assessment of the case as a whole. A prosecution can rely on circumstantial evidence, but a defendant is entitled to identify gaps and propose alternative explanations.
The jury convicted Vince of second-degree murder. The court imposed a mandatory life sentence.
In October 2010, the Court of Appeal affirmed. Its review asked whether the evidence, viewed under the governing appellate standard, could support the verdict. It did not conduct a new trial or independently interview the witnesses.
A life sentence and a later death
WVUE reported [2] that Vince died in custody on February 21, 2020, citing a Louisiana corrections spokesperson.
The list remains the case’s most unusual evidentiary feature because its author acknowledged creating it while arguing that the state had inverted its meaning. Jurors evaluated that explanation against the disguise evidence, movements and knowledge of Liz’s routine.
Liz had been taking steps to leave the marriage. The account of her death should retain that fact, rather than allowing the broadcaster’s public profile or the oddity of his notes to occupy the whole story.
Look closer · 3 visuals
Inside the evidence.
Open a visual to explore what it contributed to the case—and the limits of what it shows. These original illustrations explain the record; they are not photographs of the actual evidence.
The bicycle and the disguise
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Witnesses described a cyclist in unusual clothing; the shop purchase supplied a separately checkable detail.
Generic bicycle drawing. Neither the actual bicycle nor an authenticated disguise is pictured.
The disputed checklist
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The list linked details of the crime and disposal to Vince. He claimed it was a later exercise in demonstrating his innocence.
Important conviction evidence, with its meaning disputed. No real handwriting or exhibit text is reproduced.
The alibi’s open interval
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Investigators tested whether the Byram arrival excluded Vince from the earlier shooting.
A time comparison, not GPS tracking or a proven drive route.
★ Key evidence used in a conviction · ✓ Exclusion or reversal · ◇ Disputed evidence · ⊘ Excluded at retrial · ◆ Identity / investigative finding, not a conviction. A symbol does not mean one item proved the whole case.
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Follow the dated entries, then select an event to find its regional setting. Shared-location pins open a group of events. Evidence symbols identify important findings and their limitations.
Open the map in its own window ↗Sources & further reading
- State of Louisiana v. Vincent Marinello
- Former broadcaster Vince Marinello passes away in prison — WVUECorrections spokesperson confirms death February 21, 2020.
Editorial review: 2026-09-29 · 971 words