In the summer of 2019, the life of 32-year-old Kerrilee D’Avolio, a mother of three from Rome, New York, was tragically cut short. The events leading to the discovery of her death began to unfold on a Monday in late July when her estranged husband, Jason D’Avolio, visited his brother. An alarming conversation prompted the brother to contact the authorities, setting in motion a grim investigation.
Initially, Jason D'Avolio claimed his wife had died by suicide.
However, as police delved deeper, they found circumstances at the family's home that pointed to a 'serious crime.' During questioning, Jason gave conflicting accounts of what had transpired. The search for Kerrilee intensified, with police eventually focusing their efforts on a local landfill. Tragically, their search ended with the discovery of Kerrilee's body at the Oneida County landfill. Investigators also recovered a rifle, believed to be the murder weapon, from the Barge Canal.
Jason D'Avolio was arrested and initially charged with concealing a corpse. This charge was later upgraded to second-degree murder, to which he pleaded not guilty. The case went to trial, where the prosecution argued that Jason had shot his wife in the back of the head on the night of July 28, 2019. They contended that jealousy and rage, stemming from their pending divorce and a potential custody battle, were the motives behind the murder. The defense maintained that Kerrilee had taken her own life and that Jason had disposed of her body in a dumpster to shield their three young daughters from the trauma.
After a trial that lasted nearly two weeks, a jury deliberated for about 90 minutes before finding Jason D’Avolio guilty of second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse in November 2020. In April 2021, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the murder and an additional one-and-a-third to four years for concealing his wife's body. At his sentencing, Jason continued to maintain his innocence regarding the murder, apologizing only for how he handled the situation after her death. The judge, before imposing the maximum sentence, expressed disbelief at his statement, questioning whether he was 'completely, totally delusional' or had 'no heart.'
