Don't Look Behind You and Other True Cases (44 page)

Joe Tarricone with his first four children. From left, Aldo, Joey, Claire, and Gypsy as a baby. The photographer was obviously focused on the children in this picture.

Joe wrestles with three of his seven children. He was always there for them—until one day he wasn’t. They searched for him for three decades.

Joe and Rose Tarricone with their seven children: Claire, Aldo, Joey, Gypsy, Gina, Rosemary, and Dean. All the kids in the Tarricones’ Albuquerque neighborhood followed Joe as if he were their own special Pied Piper.

Joe Tarricone was happiest when he was cooking for his family and friends—the more the better!

One of the last photos ever taken of Joe Tarricone. He was an ebullient and magnanimous man who was unaware of the danger he faced from a surprising source.

Rose Tarricone was Joe’s high school sweetheart, the mother of his seven children, but after thirty years, Rose wanted to put down roots, while Joe was always looking for the next place to move. Divorced, they remained good friends.

Joseph Anthony Tarricone in a rare pensive mood. There wasn’t much that could get him down, but the end of an affair did. And then his eyes were opened.

Dr. Katherine Taylor demonstrates where some of the buried bones in Puyallup would fit into a human body. Many of the bones had been sawed in two, and a number of them were missing completely.

Dr. Taylor examined the shoulder blade and partial humerus bone of the nameless man found in Puyallup, Washington, and saw that a power saw had been used to dissect the body.

Dr. Taylor assembles the bones found on a deserted property in Puyallup, Washington. It was like a puzzle for her—where she put together parts that resembled a full skeleton. This was the first step in a very long and tedious investigation. Was the deceased male or female? How long had the bones lain undetected in a shallow grave? In time, all the questions were answered.

Renee Curtiss was in her twenties when she met Joe Tarricone. She had a pretty, guileless face then, almost pixielike. Joe loved and trusted her for a long time and took her into his business and his heart.

Nick Notaro, Renee’s adopted brother, would do anything for his two sisters—anything. He had many secrets in his past, but they came to light because he was a very inept liar.