Staff writer
The Marianna man accused of killing his estranged wife and two small children told state police after his July 10 arrest that he "just snapped."
"I know it was me; I was the only one in the house," 39-year-old Orlando Guarino said immediately after being read his rights when he was taken into custody off West Chestnut Street in Canton Township. "I still love my wife and kids."
Guarino will stand trial on three counts of homicide in the deaths of 22-year-old Ashley Maze Guarino, 21/2-year-old Dreux Guarino and 11-month-old Orlando Guarino Jr. Their bodies were found about 11 p.m. July 9 in Guarino's home at 405 Third St., Marianna, by Ashley Guarino's stepfather and boyfriend. Ashley Guarino had obtained a protection-from-abuse order against her estranged husband that had become final 10 days before she and her children were murdered.
Ashley Guarino's body was found on the laundry room floor on the first floor of the home. The children were upstairs, Dreux on the bed in her bedroom and the baby in his crib in another bedroom.
Police previously had said the children had spent the night with their father, and Ashley Guarano had gone to the home to pick them up.
Washington County District Attorney Steven Toprani said after the hearing that no decision has been made as to whether he will seek the death penalty.
Dr. Abdulrezzak Shakir, the pathologist who performed the autopsies for Washington County Coroner Tim Warco, said Ashley Guarino had been strangled and the two children had been smothered.
Shakir, testifying Wednesday in a preliminary hearing in Central Court before District Judge Valarie Costanzo, said Ashley Guarino had been violently beaten before she died.
She had abrasions to her face, arms and legs, and three of her ribs had been broken. Those injuries, however, did not cause her death, Shakir said. He testified that she could have been kicked or punched or pushed into a solid object. State police Cpl. Beverly Ashton said Ashley Guarino had marks around her neck.
Shakir said Dreux had a contusion on her lip and hemorrhages under her scalp that were consistent with pressure being placed on her head. The 11-month-old had no external signs of trauma.
Under cross-examination by assistant public defender Brian Gorman, Shakir said the boy did not have the strength to resist the obstruction to his airway. The marks on the girl indicated that something was pressed against her head or her head was pushed into something.
Guarino told police that his estranged wife arrived at the Marianna home about 8:15 a.m. July 9. He had made the family scrambled eggs with cheese and turkey bacon for breakfast. Shakir, during his testimony, said Ashley and Dreux Guarino died less than two hours after eating their last meal.
Cpl. Beverly Ashton, one of the investigators, said the television in a second-floor room was still on when they arrived, tuned to a station with children's programming. A paper plate was on the kitchen table. On the plate was written, "I'm with my family, peace out." It also had "Yote," "AK" and "RA." He later told Ashton that "Yote" referred to a daughter in another relationship, and "RA" referred to his brother.
On the floor were electric cords that had been cut and left in circles, Ashton said. Guarino would later tell Trooper Thomas Kress that he tried to commit suicide.
Guarino told Kress that after breakfast, Guarino and Ashley got into an argument over a text message left on her cell phone.
"He said he decided he could not take it anymore," Kress said. "He tried twice to hang himself using the electric cords. When that didn't work, he went outside to fix his lawn mower.
"When he went back inside the house, he found them the way they were," the trooper testified. "He said he knows he snapped and that he still loves his wife and kids."
Kress said Guarino did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
"He was teary-eyed and sad on his way to the barracks," Kress said.
Ashley Guarino's vehicle was found by Washington police in Washington Park. Guarino told police the family had planned to go there for an outing that afternoon.
Ashton said Guarino engaged the media on his way to his arraignment when he said, "Hi, Nancy," and "Hi, Bill," to the cameras. Nancy and Bill Wyland are Ashley Guarino's mother and stepfather.
"He said he had to put on his game face," Ashton said of Guarino before he faced the media. "He'd answer pretty much anything they asked. But he never answered that he did do it."
Away from the spotlight, however, his demeanor was more subdued.
"While we were in the car on the way to arraignment, he kept saying over and over that he must have done it," Ashton said. "But he said, 'It is not in my character.'"
Kress said that on the day the bodies were found, police received information that Guarino was at 1200 Fayette St. Guarino was caught on West Chestnut Street after running from the home.
Police also received information earlier that day that Guarino was at the Avalon Motel in Somerset Township, but he was gone before they arrived. Toprani did not rule out filing charges against anyone who knowingly assisted Guarino in the hours after the murders.
On Wednesday, before allowing the suspect, attorneys, family members and other spectators to enter the courtroom of President Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca, Washington County sheriff's deputies swept the courtroom. One deputy used a metal detector wand to check everyone before they entered the courtroom.
Prior to the start of the hearing, Costanzo cautioned that while she realized this was extremely emotional, no outbursts would be tolerated. She warned that anyone who disrupted the proceeding would be escorted from the courtroom.
When he was led into the courtroom as everyone waited outside the courtroom doors, Guarino turned and grinned. As he left the hearing, he held up his hand and gave the peace sign to his family and friends, motioning for them to call or visit.
Guarino remains in Washington County Jail, where he is being held without bond.