Christopher J. Benedetto, age 42, and his wife, Janette Piro, were last seen on November 11, 1998, on Singer Island, Florida. The couple had plans to attend a dinner party near their home but never arrived. Concern grew when neighbors, unable to contact them for several days, alerted their families in New York on November 15. This prompted Benedetto's brothers to travel to Florida and file missing persons reports.
Three days after the couple's disappearance, on November 14, 1998, Benedetto's Toyota 4Runner was found abandoned in the parking lot of a local hotel. There was no sign of foul play at the vehicle.
The investigation took a grim turn on November 23, 1998. As Benedetto's brothers were preparing to close up the couple's residence, they discovered Janette Piro's body hidden inside a freezer in the garage. An autopsy later revealed that she had been strangled. Investigators found Christopher's wallet, medication, and cell phone at the house, and there had been no activity on their financial accounts. However, more than $100,000 worth of Piro's jewelry was missing from the home. A retired New York City police officer, Benedetto was an avid fisherman. His boat was found with the motor running in a holding tank, but the anchor, a ten-foot chain, and several of his fishing rods were missing.
Suspicion soon fell on Michael Koblan, Janette Piro's brother-in-law. Witnesses reported seeing Koblan return alone on Benedetto's boat after the two had gone on a fishing trip together. Investigators learned that Benedetto had loaned a significant amount of money to Koblan for his trucking business in New Jersey. The Benedetto family would later sue Koblan, alleging he failed to repay $165,000. In 2000, a legal dispute arose between the Benedetto and Piro families when the Benedettos sought to use $100,000 from the couple's estate to fund a reward for information. The Piro family initially tried to block this, wanting half the sum to be for a reward to find Janette's killer, but a judge ultimately sided with the Benedetto family's plan.
In June 2003, Michael Koblan was arrested and faced multiple charges. Prosecutors argued that Koblan murdered Benedetto at sea after being pressured to repay the loan. The theory was that he weighed Benedetto's body down with the missing anchor and chain and disposed of it in the ocean. They believed he then returned to shore and killed Piro because she was the only witness to her husband being with Koblan that day. In 2005, Koblan was convicted of first-degree murder, killing a witness, interstate stalking, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and the interstate transportation of stolen property, receiving a life sentence. Despite being "absolutely convinced" of his guilt, the presiding judge noted the difficulty of securing a conviction without a body. Koblan died of a heart attack in prison two years into his sentence while appealing his conviction. Christopher J. Benedetto's body has never been recovered.Last Seen: Nov 11, 1998
