PHILADELPHIA — A man has been charged in a home-invasion slaying and sexual assault in suburban Philadelphia a decade ago, authorities said.
Thomas Delgado, 50, of Philadelphia was arraigned last week in Bucks County on charges of criminal homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, kidnapping and criminal conspiracy as well as other counts. He was ordered held in the county prison without bail; court documents don't list a defense attorney and numbers listed for that name were not in service. A family member told The Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday that he and the family would have no comment.
Authorities alleged that Delgado was one of two men who broke into the home of 48-year-old Joseph Canazaro in January 2013 and tied him up along with a woman and his 12-year-old son. They then ransacked the home, taking guns, money, jewelry and other items. The woman was also assaulted.
After the two surviving victims were able to escape and call 911, police found Canazaro dead in the garage of the home in Hilltown Township, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Philadelphia. An autopsy concluded that he died of multiple stab wounds.
Bucks County prosecutors said last week that the victim's truck was later recovered at Quakertown Plaza Shopping Center, and “a forensic examination of evidence recovered from the crime scene and Canazaro's stolen truck revealed a match for Delgado.”
“It would be wrong to call this a cold case," District Attorney Jen Schorn said in a statement. "These detectives have spent more than a decade seeking justice for these victims.” Police have not identified a second suspect, and prosecutors said the investigation continues.
Investigators said at the time of the crime that Canazaro owed millions to creditors, including several casinos, and detectives said last week that cellphone records indicate that he had been in touch with Delgado several times in 2011, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Authorities said in an arrest affidavit that the female victim reported that the larger of the two men, who they identified as Delgado, told the couple he had been staking out the house for weeks from the nearby woods.
“We know you have the money, just give us the money,” he said, authorities alleged in the affidavit.
Lou Busico, who represents the female victim, told the Inquirer that news of the arrest has left her with mixed emotions.
“The individual that I represent has been praying for over a decade that justice be done in this case,” Busico said Thursday. “She’s done her best to move on in life, but the events of that day will forever haunt her.”
