Phoenix Man, Eugene Maraventano, Killed Wife Over HIV Fear, Adult Son Also Murdered

A Phoenix man, Eugene Maraventano, says he killed his wife last week because he believed he had given her HIV. Maraventano also confessed to killing his son because he believed he was developmentally disabled.

Maraventano, 64, a resident of Goodyear, Ariz., confessed in a 911 call to killing his wife and son, reports New Times Phoenix. According to the court documents, Maraventano stabbed his wife and son to death on Thursday and tried to commit suicide before calling 911 on Saturday.

Maraventano told the 911 dispatcher, “I killed my wife and I killed my son; I can't kill myself.” In addition to confessing to the murders, Maraventano told the dispatcher that his wife had cancer, although his later testimony contradicts this statement.

Police arrived at Maraventano’s home and found the man covered in blood as well as the bodies of his wife and son. Maraventano said he stabbed his wife, Janet, and his 27-year-old son, Bryan, with a 14-inch kitchen knife, reports the Associated Press. The court documents obtained by New Times were from a probable cause statement filed with the court.

Maraventano was later interviewed at a local hospital where he provided more reasons for his crimes. According to New Times, Maraventano said he used to live in New York and, during that time, visited prostitutes. He believed that he may have gotten HIV during his time in New York and when his wife recently got sick, and test results from cancer came back negative, Maraventano believed he gave her the disease.

Maraventano killed his wife while she slept and later killed his son because he believed he was disabled and wouldn’t be able to live on his own. In the interview, Maraventano said he thought his son was mentally disabled because he did not have a girlfriend or a job and spent most of his day in his room playing videogames, notes AP.

After killing his wife and son, Maraventano tried to commit suicide, but failed, which led to the 911 call. The man reportedly tried to cut his wrists, suffocate himself with a bag over his head and attempted to impale himself by placing a knife against a wall while pushing his chest down onto the blade. Maraventano also has an older son whom he addressed in a suicide note, detailing the murders.

Maravento is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, reports New Times.