Deepra Sarkar
Four members of the Futo family were found dead within hours on July 26, 1991. The police suspected one of the family’s own members to be linked to the murder. This member was the eldest among the three sons born to the Futo parents. Emory Futo was tracked down in California only a few days after his family members’ bodies were found. In 2020, after almost 30 years, he spoke up about the crime, confessing to killing all the four members. The day Emory was arrested, he had his wife, Angela, and his son, Joshua, then just a baby, with him.
Investigation Discovery’s ‘American Monster’ featured the murders in an episode titled ‘It Was All of Them.’ We were curious to know what happened to Emory’s wife and son, and we compiled all we know.
Who Are Emory Futo’s Wife and Son?
When Emory realized that he wanted to get out of Missouri, more importantly, away from his family and his abusive father, he joined the Navy. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor. While he was still serving with the Navy, he saw a psychiatrist. During his counseling sessions, he came across Angela Leverenz, who was a resident of California. On Christmas leave in 1985, Emory and Angela got married. At the end of his service with the navy, Emory started working as a mechanic at Metal Container Corp in Riverside, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. Emory and Angela together bought a new stucco style home on a peaceful and calm cul-de-sac. According to statements from their neighbors, the couple was very well-liked, and they would maintain quiet.
In 1990, the couple had their first and only son, Joshua, on July 4. According to reports, Angela was from a family with stable financial conditions. When the murders surfaced, Betty Guetersloh, a cousin of the Futos’, stated that the murders Emory committed were not driven by a motive for financial gain.
In 1991, the Futos hosted a neighborhood party to celebrate their son, Joshua’s first birthday. Emory extended the invitation to his parents. His parents flew in from St. Louis to attend the party. However, the gathering was the prime root of the fateful killings that occurred just a few days later. Emory walked in on his father, touching baby Joshua inappropriately. In his confession, Emory recounted the incident. “Once you touch my son, and that happened…that’s already etched in stone in my heart and my mind. It can’t go no further,” he said. This particular incident made Emory plot with his brothers to kill his parents. From his comments in the 2020 confession, Angela was also made aware of what Emory’s father had done to their son. When the police came to arrest Emory at their Riverside, California residence, Futo pulled his wife aside.
“She said, is this about Josh and I started to cry, and I said yes. She said, is this about what happened here and I said yes,” Emory can be heard saying in the confession.
Where Are Emory Futo’s Wife and His Son Now?
Angela Futo was in the audience when a jury of eight women and four men found Futo guilty of all four members on March 12, 1993. In an article published by St. Louis Dispatch dated March 13, 1993, Angela Futo, 27 at the time, was seen crying softly as her mother embraced her after the conviction was announced. Her father and Emory’s father-in-law expressed his disappointment in a comment obtained by the newspaper. Towards the end of his confession, Emory is heard crying, saying that he misses his family. Angela Futo and Joshua Futo have averted the public gaze since Emory’s sentencing, which is understandable. We assume they still live in California and have hopefully moved on in their lives.
Read More: Where is Emory Futo Now?
