FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jury Returns Guilty Verdicts Against Pearl River Man in Domestic Violence Trial
March 17, 2025
District Attorney Collin Sims reports that on March 12, 2025, a St. Tammany Parish jury returned multiple guilty verdicts against 50-year-old Angelo Russo of Pearl River after deliberating for approximately one hour. Russo was convicted of Domestic abuse battery with a dangerous weapon, Domestic abuse battery by strangulation, Domestic abuse aggravated assault, False imprisonment with a dangerous weapon and Obstruction of justice by witness tampering. Assistant District Attorneys Gary Tromblay and Iain Dover presented the case to the jury. Judge Tara Zeller presided over the 3-day trial. Deputy Santos Aviles with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Office led the investigation.
According to trial testimony, shortly after midnight on March 17, 2023, Deputy Aviles was dispatched to a Pearl River residence in response to a 911 call of domestic violence. Upon arrival, Deputy Aviles made contact with the 44-year-old victim at the residence of a relative of the victim. The victim had visible bruises, lacerations and abrasions on her neck, face and forearms. The victim told Deputy Aviles that her live-in boyfriend, Angelo Russo, had viciously beaten her at their residence following an argument. She said he struck her repeatedly with his fists, dragged her from one room to another room, beat her with a curtain rod, and strangled her with a shirt he had wrapped around her neck. He also sprayed hairspray at her and as he did so, used a lighter to ignite the mist. After beating her for several hours, Russo locked the victim in their bedroom and told her “You will not leave this room alive.” When Russo eventually fell asleep, the victim escaped from their residence and fled on foot to her relative’s house. Once there, the victim called the police.
After interviewing the victim, deputies went to the residence where the attack occurred and found Russo asleep. Deputies wakened Russo, who became belligerent and mumbled most of his words when he spoke. Russo was arrested and transported to jail. He posted bond a week later.
After charges were filed and a trial date was scheduled, concerned family members of the victim contacted the District Attorney’s Office and reported the victim and Russo had moved to Mississippi and were again residing together. The relatives said Russo had resumed beating the victim and they provided photographs depicting injuries the victim sustained from various beatings occurring over an extended period. Prosecutors filed a motion to revoke the defendant’s bail which the court granted after a hearing. After being returned to jail, Russo called the victim and told her to contact the District Attorney’s Office and tell them she lied about everything and that she had in fact attacked him. He also told her to leave the country so that she wouldn’t be available to testify against him.
During the trial, both the victim and the defendant testified. The victim stated she loved Russo and wanted him back home. The victim minimized much of the abuse she had endured and often shifted blame to herself. Russo testified that his girlfriend was the abusive one and he was the true victim.
During closing arguments at the conclusion of the trial, ADA Iain Dover asserted this was a classic case of domestic abuse in which a domestic abuser imposes his power and control over a victim. He said Russo continued to exercise control over his victim even after he was confined to a jail cell.
Defense counsel told the jury the victim and Russo love each other and that the victim has chosen her own destiny. He said “They have a relationship that does no harm to anyone in this country.”
In the state’s rebuttal closing argument, ADA Gary Tromblay noted the defendant refuses to accept any responsibility for his actions, and instead blames the victim herself and various inanimate objects as the causes of her injuries. Tromblay described Russo as a serial abuser and “a homicide waiting to happen.”
Russo’s sentencing is set for March 18, 2025. He faces enhanced prison terms due to his seven prior convictions for second degree battery, three for stalking, seven for violation of protective orders, three for unlawful communications, four for driving while impaired, and one for unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling.