Woman in Fatal Leonardo Hit and Run 'Got Away With Murder,' Victim's Mother Says

Atlantic Highlands, NJ - The woman who police say killed Danielle Procopio's daughter lives 1.1 miles away from her.

On the evening of July 7, 2015, Toni Marletta, 50, was driving home from the beach, with three teens in the car, one of whom was her own daughter. She hit Marissa Procopio, 15, as the girl was trying to cross Rt. 36 at dusk, near Avenue D, police said.

Marletta never stopped, police said. Middletown officers later found her car parked outside of her Thompson Avenue home in Leonardo, showing damage consistent with the collision.

She was arrested a day later, on July 8, but police told Danielle Procopio they were unable to bring homicide or manslaughter charges against her, she told Patch. Prosecutors showed Procopio the results of Marletta's toxicology report, but are refusing to make it public, saying it's part of an ongoing case.

"She got away with murder," Procopio, 32, said Monday. "She's facing 5 to 10 years, and she may even get out in as early as 2 to 3. The justice system failed my daughter."

A Monmouth County grand jury indicted Marletta last month on four charges: one count of second-degree Knowingly Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in a Fatality, one count of second-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child and two counts of third-degree Endangering the Welfare of a Child. If she is found guilty, the standard sentence is 5 to 10 years.

Now, Procopio is trying to get as many people as possible to attend Marletta's arraignment, scheduled for Monday, June 20, at the Monmouth County courthouse in Freehold.

"9 a.m. Third floor. Judge Ronald Lee Reisner’s courtroom. I am trying to get 1,000 people there and I am asking everyone to wear purple, because that was Marissa's favorite color," Procopio said. "I want to show the judge that leniency will not be accepted in this case; she's already gotten away with so much. He needs to prosecute her to the fullest extent of the law."

The night Marissa was late for curfew

Marissa was Procopio's only child. She remembers the night of July 7 like it was yesterday.

"Her curfew was 9 p.m. and by 10 o'clock she still wasn't home. She wasn't answering her phone, and this was not like her," said Procopio. "Then I got a call from AT&T saying a man had her phone and could they put him through to me. At first, I was so, so happy. The first thing I told him was 'I'm so happy you found my daughter's phone!'"

That man turned out to be a detective with the Middletown police department.

"He told me your daughter's been in an accident. She's been taken to the Jersey Shore Medical Center," she said. "I raced down there as fast as I could, but she died before I got there."

Marissa was officially taken off life support a day later, on July 8. She had suffered massive head trauma. However, nothing else on her body was injured, and five of her organs — her lungs, pancreas, left and right kidneys, and her heart — saved the lives of five other New Jersey residents via organ donation.

"My daughter was a good girl," said her mother. "She made honor roll, she played the clarinet and she played basketball and soccer. She was part of the Middletown 4-H club, and she did reading to little kids. When she grew up, her dream was to work in forensic investigations for the FBI. Similar to the case that killed her, actually."

This week, Henry Hudson High School in Highlands, where Marissa was a student, will give away two scholarships to students for college. And Highlands Elementary will give out a music award in her honor, for her love of the clarinet.

"Marissa will never be able to go to college," said Procopio, starting to cry. "But because of her, two other students will. And even though she's not here anymore, five other people will still be able to accomplish good things through her because they have her organs."

Photos: Marissa Procopio showing she made honor roll; with her mother and her mother's husband, Scott Adams, after a clarinet recital; Danielle Procopio and Marissa; the intersection on Rt. 36 where she was killed.