By DAMIEN FISHER, InDepthNH.org
The New Hampshire man who is accused of killing and dismembering his wife during their anniversary getaway in Vermont has been ordered to pay his family $1.5million in the civil wrongful death lawsuit .
Joseph Ferlazzo Jr., 42, of Northfield, is still being held without bond on a first-degree murder charge for killing his wife, Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo, 22, while vacationing in Vermont. The criminal case is still pending.
Robert Scharf, attorney for Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo’s mother, Adrienne Bass, said Monday that a judge awarded Bass more than $1.5 million in damages after a hearing earlier this month. Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. was found civilly responsible for the death of his wife in December.
“While this judgment can in no way compensate for the death of Emily Jean, it recognizes the terrible loss of the family and will ensure that Joseph Ferlazzo will never benefit from the murder of Emily Jean,” Scharf said.
Shortly after his arrest last year, Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. confessed to the murder, according to court records, but he pleaded not guilty in court. The felony murder case is still pending in Chittenden County Court.
Scharf said the couple didn’t have a lot of assets, but the family wanted to make sure they had a judgment filed against Joseph Ferlazzo Jr.
“There are no substantial assets, although there are cash, vehicles, and we have already recovered the family dog which is considered personal property here in Vermont,” said Scharf. “Further healing will be difficult, but judgments last a very long time and can be renewed.”
The family took possession of the dog, Remmy, last month.
Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. is scheduled to return for the criminal case this spring, according to Chittenden County Court clerks.
Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. worked as a tattoo artist before meeting Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo, a registered nurse. She lived in Northfield, New Hampshire, near her family. He has since had his Vermont tattoo license revoked, according to state records.
Adrienne Bass and her husband, Davis Bass, reported Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo missing on Monday after Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. returned to New Hampshire from the birthday vacation without his wife, according to the affidavit filed in court. Upper Chittenden County by Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. . James Vooris.
Adrienne Bass told police her daughter had been a victim of domestic violence in the past.
The couple were vacationing at an AirBNB property in their converted motorhome in Bolton, Vermont, during the October 2021 trip. Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. told his in-laws that the couple had a falling out and that Emily Ferlazzo told him she was taking an Uber back to New Hampshire, according to the affidavit. He later left the state again in the RV.
Vermont police found the RV that was the site of a grisly murder and quickly took Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. into custody. He told police he had an argument with Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo on the Saturday of their trip, and that she hit and kicked him, particularly in the groin, Vooris wrote.
The fight ended with Emily Ferlazzo going to bed. Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. waited five to 10 minutes, got his Glock 19 pistol, jumped on his wife and shot her twice in the head, he told police. He put a trash bag over his head, then put his body in the RV bathroom. Then he went to have breakfast with his sister and her boyfriend, he told police.
After breakfast, Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. moved the RV to another location, then proceeded to dismember his wife, cutting her feet, legs, arms, and head from her body with a hacksaw. hand, and putting each part of the body in a separate garbage bag. , he told the police.
This wasn’t the first time a member of Joseph Ferlazzo Jr.’s family had met a violent death. In 2009, her stepmother Young Hee Lim-Ferlazzo was stabbed to death at her home in Upper Gwynedd Township, Pennsylvania in October 2009. Her father, Joseph Ferlazzo Sr., was questioned by police, but the The case remains open, authorities said.
Joseph Ferlazzo Sr. owned a massage parlor in Reading, Pennsylvania, which was raided by police in May 2009, according to reports. Police arrested several women accused of prostitution, including a relative of Young Hee Lim-Ferlazzo who allegedly worked as a massage parlor manager. Joseph Ferlazzo Sr. told police he returned home from shopping after midnight on the night of the murder and discovered his wife’s body.
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