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Larissa Macriello, John Paul Garcia: Missing Miami Massage Therapist Killed By Married Lover Was Almost ‘The Perfect Murder,’ Body Not Found On Investigation Discovery

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 11:34 PST, Jul 20, 2016

Larissa Macriello, the Miami massage therapist who was murdered by her married lover, John Paul Garcia, three years ago, is the subject of an all-new episode of Investigation Discovery‘s The Perfect Murder. The episode based on Larissa Macriello’s case is titled, “No Happy Ending,” which will tell the story of a Latina masseuse who goes missing in Miami, leaving a trail of suspects, including her male clients and even a married lover.

The Missing Masseuse

According to the Miami Herald, 45-year-old Larissa Macriello disappeared in Miami, Florida, in June 2013. Though she worked in the city alone, Larissa Macriello always stayed in touch with her family members. When she suddenly stopped making contact with them, her worried brother, Roderick Mokillo, traveled to Miami by plane to find her. Once he arrived at her home, he found one uneaten meal but no sign of his sister, Larissa.

Secret Lover, Deadly Lover

Authorities believe that Larissa Macriello’s disappearance had everything to do with her boyfriend, John Paul Garcia, a married bail bond employee with a criminal record that included one previous murder from 1991 and a drug trafficking conviction. Cell phone records show that she last visited John Paul Garcia’s home. For a while, the case dragged on until police could find more evidence to link Garcia to the murder.

Bail Bondsman Employee’s Wife Didn’t Know

John Paul Garcia was a husband leading a double life, which included lying to his wife. For years, Annalie Rivero knew something was wrong in their marriage, but she never could have imagined that her husband would be implicated in the murder of his mistress. In fact, she had no idea that her husband was having an affair with Larissa Macriello. Her tearful confrontation with her husband was captured on video. According to Sacbee, the wife can be seen as she tearfully asks her husband for explanations while he vehemently denies having any part in her disappearance or murder.

Key Points Outlined In The Video Of John Paul Garcia with his wife, Annalie Rivero.

  • John Paul Garcia denies killing Larissa or knowing anything about her disappearance.
  • Garcia tells Annalie Rivero that he let Larissa Macriello borrow $20,000.
  • Annalie Rivero asks him where he got $20,000 to loan someone when he never had money in his account and couldn’t even buy her a $5,000 car.
  • John Paul Garcia skillfully eludes her questions, sometimes by posing a question to her, a classic sign of a liar.

Those who have known John Paul Garcia for years say they are glad that the law has finally caught up with him. They also say that Garcia got away with murder the first time and has been lying and hurting people ever since.

Larissa Macriello was originally from Panama but arrived in Miami in 2009, where she landed a job as a massage therapist. According to her brother, Roderick Mokillo, his sister loved to have fun, cook, and travel to exotic destinations. Sadly, meeting John Paul Garcia online put her in the direct path of destruction. Her body has never been found.

Here are some stats about the massage therapy industry, according to the American Massage Therapy Association.

  1. Massage therapy was a $12.1 billion industry in the country in 2015.

  2. From 2011 to 2015, revenue from alternative health care providers, which includes massage therapists, increased by 14 percent, and employment increased 19 percent.

  3. Revenue growth is projected to continue at an average rate of 3.6 percent per year through 2020.

  4. Between July 2014 and July 2015, roughly 39.1 million adult Americans (18 percent) had a massage at least once.

  5. Most people enter the massage therapy profession as a second career.

  6. The masseuse business is predominantly a female industry (86 percent).

  7. A massage therapist earns an average wage of $47 an hour (including tips) for all massage-related work.

  8. In 2015, the average annual income for a massage therapist (including tips) was estimated to be $24,519.

To see how Miami detectives pulled the Larissa Macriello no body case together, watch The Perfect Murder tonight at 9/8 p.m. Central on Investigation Discovery (ID). Last week, The Perfect Murder aired the Diane Girts murder case.

[Image via Oneinchpunch/Shutterstock]

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