- Emily Schwarz Ferlazzo vanished after an anniversary road trip with her husband Joseph, who told family she’d stormed off following an argument
- Instead of searching for his missing wife, Joseph disappeared – setting off alarm bells for Emily’s parents
- When police tracked Joseph down and searched the couple’s converted trailer, they made a gruesome and horrifying discovery
Emily Schwarz could hardly believe she’d been married a whole year to her husband Joseph Ferlazzo.
In photos shared on Facebook, the pair looked picture perfect.
Joseph, 41, was tall, dark and handsome and Emily, 22, was diminutive, blonde and beautiful.
An aspiring singer, Emily was a nursing assistant who loved caring for people and dreamed of a future as a cosmetologist.
She’d fallen for tattoo artist Joseph and, after a whirlwind romance, she’d married him just a month after getting engaged.
The newlyweds lived in a large van they’d converted on Emily’s parents’ property.
In October 2021, the couple were setting off for their first anniversary adventure – a road trip to meet up with Joseph’s sister Nikki.
She and her boyfriend were staying at an Airbnb.
When Joseph and Emily arrived, the four of them chatted for a while in their van before Nikki and her boyfriend turned in for the night.
They’d all made plans to meet for breakfast the following morning.
But when Joseph arrived at the restaurant, he was on his own.
He explained over his meal that the pair had an argument before bed and Emily had stormed off.
Joseph texted Emily’s phone asking if she was coming back, but there was no reply.
I don’t deserve this, he’d messaged.
Could it be that Emily just needed some space and was making her own way home?
Joseph drove the van to his friend’s house about an hour’s drive away.
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But with no word from Emily, he left the vehicle and headed home on his motorbike to Emily’s parents’ place.
There Joseph told Emily’s mother, Adrienne, and stepfather, David, that he’d last seen Emily when she left the van during their argument.
He explained that she began walking down the highway saying she planned to Uber home.
Frantic, Emily’s family reported her missing, fearing something terrible had happened to Emily on the road on her trip home.
But instead of looking for his missing wife, Joseph disappeared.
The following morning, an acquaintance of Joseph’s rang police to say Joseph had admitted to killing his wife.
When police found Joseph in a convenience shop, they took him in for questioning.
Shockingly, he admitted to killing Emily, but said he’d shot her in self-defence.
He said his wife had punched and kicked him during an alcohol-fuelled argument the night he had claimed she had gone missing.
He then told detectives that around five to 10 minutes after the row ended, he’d jumped on top of her on the bed, covered her face with a pillow and shot her twice in the head.
Police obtained a warrant to search the couple’s van, but nothing could have prepared them for what they’d find.
Her evil hubby had eaten breakfast then chopped up her body…
Inside investigators located Emily’s engagement ring in a cup holder inside the van covered with a reddish-brown substance.
They also retrieved a handsaw from behind the driver’s seat, along with a gun.
When they searched the shower, police made a gruesome discovery – eight garbage bags.
Two bags contained a red throw pillow and some bedding.
Horrifically, the rest contained the dismembered remains of Emily.
Her evil hubby had eaten breakfast then chopped up her body…
During Emily’s autopsy, examiners found 16 stab wounds to her upper body, but there was no alcohol in her system.
Detectives found a knife inside of a butcher’s block in the van which had reddish-brown stains on the blade.
During investigations, Emily’s mother Adrienne admitted that all was not paradise as it seemed for the newlyweds.
She revealed she’d spotted bruising and scratches on Emily and was sure there had been domestic violence in the marriage.
But how exactly could their romance have turned so deadly?
“I have one flash of memory where I cut into her leg with a knife,” he told the court.
Joseph Ferlazzo was charged, and when the case was heard in Chittenden County Superior Criminal Court in October last year.
Ferlazzo pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, adding he couldn’t remember dismembering his wife.
‘I have one flash of memory where I cut into her leg with a knife,’ he told the court.
‘It made me sick,’ he said on the stand, revealing that he had no other memories of anything.
Ferlazzo also claimed that he and Emily were in a polyamorous relationship and their relationship led to lots of physical violence.
Calling his claim of self-defence into question, defence lawyer Sarah George said Ferlazzo had premeditated the murder.
‘Mr Ferlazzo sat on the couch thinking, planning for what he told police was five to 10 minutes – for at least five minutes [he] sat on the couch and stewed,’ she said.
To emphasise her point, she let the clock tick for five minutes as the room remained eerily quiet.
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On December 13, 2024, it took a jury less than two hours to reach a guilty verdict.
Joseph Ferlazzo Jr now faces a minimum of 35 years in prison for the murder of his wife.
Emily’s devastated mother Adrienne was relieved by the verdict.
‘For me it was really just relief and feeling like we got the justice that Emily deserves,’ she said afterwards.
In a message to her daughter she said, ‘We did it and that we love you…and we’ll always remember you.’
