Gloucester City Man Thought Wife Was Cheating Before Murder: PO

GLOUCESTER CITY, NJ — A Gloucester City man fatally stabbed his wife following a night of drinking after she began an extramarital affair, according to authorities.

John Divetro, 51, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the death of 52-year-old Christine Madiraca on Wednesday, according to Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Gloucester City Police Chief Brian Morrell.

Police found Divetro and Madiraca both suffering from stab wounds in a home on Bobwood Avenue early Wednesday morning, police said. Madiraca, 52, was pronounced deceased via telemetry. Divetro was hospitalized to be treated before he would be moved to the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a pretrial detention hearing.

Police responded to the home after receiving a pair of 911 calls asking them to conduct a wellness check on Madiraca. The first call came from a friend who said Madiraca was having a problem with her boyfriend, according to the probable cause statement provided by the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office.

The second call came from a caller who said they had visited the home and knocked on the door several times, but no one answered, according to the affidavit. Madiraca hadn’t gone to work, and her car was still parked outside the house.

Police found Madiraca on the bedroom floor, covered by several blankets. She had blood on her head and chest, and there was blood on the floor around her, police said. She appeared to be deceased.

Divetro was on the bed, and was able to walk over to the officers. He appeared to have been stabbed in the neck. He told officers they had both been stabbed during an attempted burglary by a stranger, police said. He was then taken to Cooper University Hospital. Madiraca was taken to Inspira Hospital in Woodbury, where she was pronounced deceased.

During the ensuing investigation, detectives interviewed a witness who said they had been with Divetro between 7:50 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, when he had come to their home to ask if they could talk.

They went to a nearby liquor store, where the witness bought four large bottles of beer for Divetro, according to police. They went back to the witness’s home, where Divetro said he was upset and depressed about his life, police said.

The witness asked Divetro if Madiraca was cheating on him, to which Divetro replied if Madiraca was cheating on him, then “I know what she's going to get,” police said. Divetro then went home.

Detectives did interview a man who claimed to have recently begun a relationship with Madiraca. He said he called her several times between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. Wednesday morning. He called her at 1:15 a.m. to wake her up for work delivering papers, but Divetro answered and said he had already woken her up and was going to take her to work.

When the man asked to speak to Madiraca, Divetro said, “no, no don't worry about it, I already got her up and I'm going to do the papers with her today,” police said. He called back at 2:41 a.m. Divetro once again answered and said Madiraca was in the bathroom. He asked to speak to her, and Divetro said, “no, no, no, everything is alright, we're going to do the papers.” He never spoke to Madiraca.

One of the callers who requested the wellness check told detectives they had gone to the home twice: once between 4 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., and again at 9 a.m. Both times, they knocked on the door and honked their horn, but no one answered, even though Madiraca’s car was still at the home.

After three interviews, police executed a search warrant at the home. They said they found a t-shirt with suspected blood on it in a trash can in the house. On the roof, they found two knives that were wrapped in a towel, all of which appeared to have suspected blood on them.

See related: Gloucester City Man Fatally Stabbed Girlfriend: Police