Anne Marie Sinead Fahey, a 30-year-old woman, was last seen alive on June 27, 1996, when she went to dinner with Thomas Capano, a married attorney and former lover, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Fahey, who was the appointments secretary to then-Governor Tom Carper of Delaware, had ended her affair with Capano earlier that year. Her family reported her missing on June 30, 1996, and an extensive search ensued.
Capano, the last known person to have seen Fahey alive, became the prime
suspect in her disappearance. He was arrested for her murder in November 1997, over sixteen months after her disappearance. Prosecutors alleged that Capano murdered Fahey at the house he rented and, with the assistance of his brother Gerry, disposed of her body in the Atlantic Ocean. Gerry testified that Capano shot a cooler containing Fahey's body in an attempt to sink it, but it remained afloat. Capano then retrieved the cooler, removed the body, and wrapped the anchor chains around it.
The investigation involved the FBI and a federal grand jury, which heard evidence for over a year. Despite extensive efforts, Fahey's body was never found, and prosecutors were unable to establish the cause or manner of her death. Capano was convicted of first-degree murder in January 1999 and sentenced to death, but his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
The case garnered significant media attention and was the subject of Ann Rule's book, "And Never Let Her Go." The trial revealed Capano's history of womanizing and temper, painting a picture of a man who grew angry and resorted to murder when Fahey ended their affair. The case remains one of the most sensational and dramatic in Delaware's history.
