Maltese facing life for murder in US

A Maltese man, who lives in the US, is facing life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if found guilty of kidnapping and murdering a young man who had an affair with his girlfriend, the American prosecutor’s office told The Times.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Denis Catania, 49, who was on the run for a year, was caught in Cuba on Wednesday and is now facing murder charges in the US.

Mr Catania and his girlfriend Diana Camacho, 26, were both charged with kidnapping, arson and the murder of Ross Heimlich, a 23-year-old student from Voorhees. His body was found inside a burning car in September 2010.

The couple had fled New Jersey, where they lived, shortly after the murder.

They first went to Florida and travelled to various Caribbean countries until, on Wednesday, US court marshals arrested them in Cuba and returned them to the US, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office said.

On Thursday – exactly a year to the date after authorities believe the victim was kidnapped, struck on the head and left to burn inside his car – Mr Catania and Ms Camacho made their first appearance in the Superior Court in Atlantic County.

It is believed that Mr Heimlich and Ms Camacho, a single mother of three originally from Philadelphia, had an affair sometime before his death.

They worked together at a Target store in Voorhees for about six months before the Camden County College student’s remains were found in his torched car in a parking lot.

Courier Post Online quoted a law enforcement source saying that Mr Catania became enraged about the relationship, “once going so far as to cause a stir at the Target when he confronted and threatened Mr Heimlich”.

In the days after the murder, Mr Catania, Ms Camacho and her children suddenly moved from their two-storey home and headed to Florida.

Mr Heimlich’s torched car was discovered on September 29, 2010, after a passer-by saw the car burning behind a shopping centre near Hammonton Middle School and called the police.

When the fire was extinguished, human remains were found in the car. Forensic tests identify the body as that of Mr Heimlich.