Frank Masini: The New Jersey Handyman Who Murdered Four Elderly People
Background and Early Life
Frank Masini was born on April 14, 1944, in Naples, Italy. He immigrated to the United States when he was approximately 17 years old and eventually settled in Livingston, New Jersey. Masini married, became the father of two children and worked primarily as a self-employed carpenter and handyman. His occupation gave him access to private residences and allowed him to establish relationships with customers who trusted him inside their homes.
Masini appeared to many people to be a hardworking family man, but he had previously been convicted of burglary in 1966. That conviction legally prohibited him from owning firearms, although investigators later found two handguns in his residence. By the early 1990s, Masini maintained a workshop in Orange, New Jersey, and performed carpentry, cabinet and repair work for relatives and elderly customers throughout Essex and Ocean counties.
Between November 1991 and November 1992, Masini murdered four elderly people whom he already knew. Three of the victims were women, and one was a man. The crimes occurred inside the victims' homes, where Masini's familiarity with them allowed him to enter without forcing his way inside. The absence of forced entry became an important clue after investigators recognized similarities among the killings.
The Murder of Anna Masini
Masini's first known victim was his 85-year-old aunt, Anna Masini, who lived in Orange, New Jersey. On November 24, 1991, he visited her residence, reportedly claiming that he needed to use her telephone. The visit initially appeared ordinary. The two spoke and drank soft drinks together, and Anna had no apparent reason to believe that her relative intended to harm her.
While Masini was washing a drinking glass in the kitchen, he noticed a knife. He suddenly attacked Anna and repeatedly stabbed her in the neck. After killing her, he sexually assaulted her body before leaving the residence. Anna's body was not discovered until November 27, 1991. Because there was no obvious forced entry and Masini was not immediately identified as a suspect, her murder remained unsolved for more than a year.
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