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Francis "Frank" Tattoli, 30, was found guilty on Nov. 1 of murder, kidnapping and felony murder in the death of Monet Thomas, 25, in the apartment building where both lived. The jury also found him not guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.
Thomas, who was born in Teaneck, lived with her family in Kearny before moving to East Rutherford, where she lived with her boyfriend and her bulldog. She worked as a manager of group sales for a hotel in Secaucus.
She'd just taken the dog for a walk when she was attacked in the hallway of the three-story Summer Street apartment building in December 2016, authorities said.
Surveillance video showed Thomas trying to fight off Tattoli as he drags her into his apartment by the throat. He emerges moments later -- bloodied and drinking a soda.
Thomas's boyfriend, Jonathan Ferreira, found the dog in the building parking lot. After bringing him inside, Ferreira found Thomas critically injured just inside the doorway of Tattoli's first-floor apartment, an investigator told Daily Voice.
She'd been stabbed and nearly strangled, he said.
Ferreira at first thought the body was Tattoli's, assuming the known drug user had overdosed, the source told Daily Voice.
When he realized the body was Thomas's, he desperately tried to revive her. Then he discovered Tattoli, who'd sustained several defense wounds, in the bedroom.
Ferrerira beat Tattoli, who fled the apartment and was captured by East Rutherford police a short distance away. A bloody knife was recovered.
Tattoli -- who records show had a criminal history of burglary, obstruction and drug offenses -- was charged with attempted murder and weapons possession and sent to the Bergen County Jail.
SEE: East Rutherford Man Finds Assaulted Girlfriend, Beats Neighbor
Thomas, who was unresponsive, was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she died 11 days later.
Charges against Tattoli were upgraded to murder -- and his bail increased from $2 million to $5 million.
SEE: $5M Bail Set For East Rutherford Man After Attacked Woman Dies
Defense attorney Brian Neary said Tattoli had struggled for years with a PCP habit that drove him to violence.
It wasn't an excuse, Neary emphasized, but it did speak to the actions of someone "gripped by the use of serious drugs" and not someone who had a premeditated motive.
In other words: It didn't warrant a murder conviction in Neary's view, but, rather, aggravated manslaughter or manslaughter — which don't bring penalties as serious.
Jurors had begun deliberation last Thursday, then took a break until Tuesday, when they reached their verdict.
Tattoli faces 30 years to life for murder and 25 years to life for kidnapping when Superior Court Judge Keith Bachman sentences him on Jan. 13 in Hackensack.
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