Shraman Mitra
Residents of Long Island, New York, were left shocked in February 2005 when authorities discovered Susan Ambrosino’s body stuffed in the trunk of her car. While the homicide was extremely gruesome, the police soon realized they had to navigate a complex web of interpersonal relationships to get to the truth. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Blood Relatives: Brothers in Arms’ chronicles the horrifying incident and follows the investigation that brought the perpetrator to justice.
How Did Susan Ambrosino Die?
Susan Ambrosino appeared to have the perfect life as she resided in Long Island, New York, with her husband, Keith Ambrosino, and their daughter, Taylor. Although things were pretty smooth for several years, the 26-year-old’s life hit a barrier when Keith, a private in the US Army, was deployed to Hungary. Although Keith was confident that the rest of his family would take care of his wife and child, Susan hated being away from her husband and promised to wait for his return. However, things changed upon Keith’s return as he found his wife quite distant.
The changed demeanor led to a massive rift between the couple, and before long, Susan and Keith decided to separate and file for divorce. Yet, none of them knew about the tragedy that would befall the mother of one. Susan’s brother, Anthony, reported his sister missing towards the end of February 2005, and the police took immediate action by organizing search parties and asking the public for help. The second method paid off, as Susan’s purse was soon discovered in the neighborhood of Jamaica in Queens. The location of the purse narrowed the search area for law enforcement officials.
Within a few hours, they managed to find Susan’s car, which was abandoned on East 182nd street. Once police officers approached the car and popped the trunk, they were shocked to discover Susan’s lifeless body stuffed inside. She was immediately declared dead, and an initial medical investigation spotted blood around her head and ears. Later, an autopsy determined that she was shot once in the head at close range and was killed on the night of February 24, 2005. On top of it, the autopsy also affirmed that Susan was pregnant at the time of her murder.
Who Killed Susan Ambrosino?
During the initial investigation into Susan’s murder, the suspicion automatically fell on her ex-husband, Keith, as they had finalized their divorce just a few months back. However, when questioned, Keith mentioned that on the day of Susan’s murder, his ex-wife had called him, claiming she wanted to tell him a secret. Although Susan never got around to exposing the secret, Keith insisted he noticed some strange behavioral changes in his ex-wife after returning from Hungary. Not only did Susan give him less attention and seem uninterested, but she had also gotten close to Keith’s step-brother, Steven Schiovone, in the span of a few months.
In fact, even after Keith’s return, Steven would hang around the house for the better part of the day, and the US Army private caught his daughter, Taylor, referring to his step-brother as “father” instead of “uncle.” Such developments made Keith suspect that Susan was having an affair with Steven, and he soon chose to move away and divorce her. Anthony further confirmed Keith’s cheating allegation and claimed he saw how Steven and Susan took to each other in her husband’s absence.
Within a few months, they had started an intimate relationship, and according to the show, Susan was allegedly planning on replacing Keith with Steven as the father figure in Taylor’s life. On top of it, Anthony even exposed a shocking secret by claiming that his sister was about four months pregnant with Steven’s baby and was planning on meeting him on the night she died. Such a development made Steven the last person to see Susan alive and gave him a viable motive for murder. When the police went to question him, they came across his ex-girlfriend, Kim.
Kim insisted Steven was innocent and had spent the night of February 24 with his friend, Tim. However, with time, the police found phone records that proved Steven was not with Tim at the time of Susan’s death but had met up with his friend shortly afterward. Armed with this new information, authorities interrogated Tim for a second time and got him to crack under pressure. The witness then stated that Steven shot Susan on the night of February 24 and asked him to get rid of the firearm. However, Tim led investigators to the murder weapon, allowing the police to arrest Steven for Susan’s murder.
Steven Schiovone Remains Behind Bars
When arrested, Steven knew he was facing possible conviction because of the evidence against him. Hence, he agreed on a plea deal in exchange for a reduced sentence even before the case could get to court. As a result, the accused pled guilty to Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree and first-degree manslaughter, which netted him a 30-year prison sentence in 2007. With Steven still not eligible for parole, he currently remains behind bars at the Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining, New York, and will be released by 2030 at the earliest.
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