Pamela Mascaro , the Forest Hills, New York, mother who was gunned down on Grand Central Parkway over two decades ago, will have her story aired on a new episode of The Perfect Murder . The Investigation Discovery show focuses on crimes that almost went unsolved.
Wednesday’s episode, titled “Driving with the Devil,” tells the story of a family who becomes involved in a road rage nightmare on a cold Christmas night just after leaving a holiday dinner on Long Island. Expect commentary from law enforcement and possibly friends or family members.
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December 1992: Leaving Long Island
Pamela and John Mascaro had just finished a wonderful Christmas dinner with family members in Cold Spring Harbor in Northport on Long Island. The car was packed with Christmas gifts, and the couple’s 3-year-old daughter, Holly Laine, was safely tucked into her car seat as the Mascaros headed back to their Forest Hills home. But the crisp winter air smelled of blood after Pamela Mascaro was shot dead in her car as they drove along Grand Central Parkway in Queens.
Moments Before The Tragedy
Just before the shooting, the impatient driver behind them had wanted John to get out of the way. Believing that the Mascaros had cut him off, the irate man pulled up alongside their car and began arguing with John, The Perfect Murder will highlight.
After the altercation, the angry motorist began to slow up behind them and fired shots into the family’s car, striking Pamela Mascaro. The shattered glass splashed on Holly Laine in the back seat, but the bullet missed her. In a panic and with the crazed gunman still behind him, John got off of the highway and pulled into a gas station, where he called the police and tried to help his bleeding wife.
When help arrived, Pamela Mascaro was rushed to the local hospital, where she clung to life for 24 hours but later died. Pam’s family was devastated and stunned by the news.
Hundreds attended Pamela Mascaro’s funeral, where she was described as a caring mother and a lovely woman by those who knew her. The community was also in disbelief that something like this could happen on the road, especially around Christmas.
ID’s The Perfect Murder will show that an autopsy report determined that Pamela Mascaro had died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head. At the scene, police found no clues, and the case went cold for the next five years.
New York Cold Case Breaks Wide Open
A break in the road rage case came in 1995 after detectives arrested Bruce Warren, a former airport employee who had stalked and burglarized the home of a co-worker. During the search of his home, New York police found an old newspaper photo of a little girl. The girl turned out to be Holly Laine Mascaro, the toddler who had been in the back seat when her mother, Pamela Savino Mascaro, was murdered.
With this information, investigators knew they had their killer. However, they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him at that time. However, Warren, who had become completely obsessed with the case, confessed to an inmate that he had done it. Police charged Bruce Warren with Pam Mascaro’s death in 1998 just before he was due to be released on parole for the burglary.
Bruce Warren was eventually convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to five to 15 years in prison. Despite his conviction, the damage was done. The Savino family didn’t have Pamela anymore and a possible rift between the Savino family and John Mascaro seemed to be apparent judging by his comments during the sentencing hearing. However, this has not been confirmed.
“How can anyone even begin to measure the intense pain and suffering, anguish, anger, depression, sleepless nights, tormenting dreams, broken relationships and utter loss caused by this one person?”
In The Years After The Murder: Where They Are Now?
Today, John Mascaro is remarried and is still working as a tax consultant and accountant near Pensacola, Florida. As for Holly Mascaro, she turned out to be a beautiful young woman with a promising career in marketing.
We couldn’t find much information on the killer, Bruce Warren. A scan of New York Department of Corrections’ records indicated the following.
- Bruce Warren was a 48-year-old black male with a criminal history.
- He had stalked a woman on his job and planned to kill her.
- After confessing to an inmate about the road rage murder of Pamela Mascaro, he tried to have the inmate killed.
- Bruce Warren died in 2007.
Watch Pamela and John Mascaro’s harrowing story as it is dramatized this Wednesday at 9/8 p.m. Central on Investigation Discovery (ID). Last week, The Perfect Murder aired the murder of Harlem landlord Carmen Quinones .
[Image via ShutterStock]