The Suspicious Death of Valarie Fiorenza (Massachusetts)

Since the moment her death was discovered in April of 1993, the family of Valarie Fiorenza has doubted that she got a fair and thorough investigation. Her boyfriend was a cop, their relationship was tumultuous, and Valarie had even made claims of abuse in court, but when her body was found in that boyfriend’s basement, investigators decided that the circumstances could only point to one conclusion, and it wasn’t murder. 

So, what really happened here? Despite the official ruling, that question still lingers.

April 15, 1993

It was around 10:15 p.m. on April 15, 1993 when Massachusetts State Police were called to 28 Fairchild Avenue in the town of Saugus where local authorities were already on the scene. According to a State Police incident report completed by Trooper Norman C. Zuk, Saugus Police had responded to the residence that night after they received a concerned phone call. The caller reported that he hadn’t been able to reach his ex-wife, 30-year Valarie Fiorenza, for almost two days. 

Though they were divorced, Valarie and her ex-husband Larry Cassity had stayed friends and Larry even described their relationship as best friends. So it was Larry who got a call from Valarie’s manager at work when she didn’t show up for her shift on the 14th.

Larry tried paging Valarie all day but never got a call back, so he stopped by her boyfriend’s house where she was living to check in. Valarie’s dog was outside barking in the backyard, a car was parked in the driveway, and Larry could hear music blasting from inside the house. I don’t know if he tried knocking on the door or if he peered through the windows or if he tried anything else while he was there, but he ultimately left and resolved to continue trying to get in touch with Valarie.

Larry went by the house for a second time the next day around 7:30 p.m. and the scene was nearly identical: Dog still outside barking, car still parked in the driveway, and music still playing inside. Something about the situation just didn’t sit right with him so he decided to call Saugus police.

When Larry recounted the events of April 15th as he remembered them for Boston Globe reporter Kevin Cullen, he said that he had to call Saugus Police twice before they actually showed up. When officers did finally arrive, they had a key to the house. You see, the home belonged to one of their own. Valarie’s boyfriend was long-time Saugus Patrol Officer Paul Bennett. 

After receiving the call from Larry, the PD reportedly contacted Paul’s mother who lived just a few streets over and got a spare key to Paul’s house before responding to the scene. There they found the dog, the loud music, and the car just as Larry had, but when the officers tried the key to the entry doors it proved to be useless. Both the front and rear exterior doors seemed to be wedged shut. That’s when law enforcement opted to enter the house by force and proceeded to break a window on the front door to gain entry.

Once inside, the source of the blocked door was revealed. Pieces of two-by-four wood lumber had been jammed up against the doorknobs. The exact actions taken by the Saugus officials once inside the house evade me at this point but it’s reasonable to assume that they probably went from room to room looking for Valarie. When they found her, it was already too late.

Police located Valarie’s body in a basement storage closet suspended from a floor joist with rope around her neck and a stool inches from her feet. Valarie was pronounced dead at the scene and her body was transported to Tewksbury State Hospital for an autopsy, but an early hypothesis of her death was already taking shape. 

The Life of Valarie Fiorenza

Valarie Fiorenza grew up in Medford, Massachusetts with her parents Linda and George Fiorenza. She had aspirations of becoming a model and working in fashion. Valarie even attended modeling school and worked at a beauty academy before deciding to pursue an entrepreneurial career and open her own flea market. 

Valarie married Larry Cassity in 1984 and the marriage lasted about five years before they filed for divorce. Sometime after her marriage ended, possibly in 1991, Valarie started seeing the Saugus Police officer, Paul Bennett.

Also in 1991, Valarie’s apartment was broken into and the intruder sexually assaulted Valarie. Thankfully, the suspect was apprehended, charged, convicted and sentenced to 5 years in prison. The trauma of the event took a major toll on Valarie. According to Larry, she was hospitalized after she took an indeterminate number of unknown pills. She received treatment and recovered.

Paul became Valarie’s protector. At least, that’s how it appeared to Valarie’s parents Linda and George for a while. But then things started to change. They say that Paul’s behavior looked less like protecting, and more like controlling.

Valarie had started working at a lingerie store in the town of Revere called Black Lace where models provided private viewings to customers, particularly men. Her coworkers have said that Valarie was considered one of the more successful models at the store, earning five- to six-hundred dollars a week, and this may have been a point of contention in her relationship.

One of Valarie’s closest friends, Claire, remembered how Paul was “obsessed” with Valarie. He seemed jealous and didn’t want Valarie to “have a good time.” But it wasn’t until December of 1992 that the full scope of Valarie and Paul’s relationship dynamics was revealed in court records. 

On December 29, 1992, Valarie filed a 209A in Somerville District Court – that’s an application for a restraining order. It seems Valarie and Paul were in the midst of a breakup, or at least, Valarie was trying to leave his house where they were living together when things escalated to alleged harassment and stalking. The signed application reads:

“Paul Bennett spent the night stalking and harassing me at various establishments on December 27, 1992. After I was packing my boxes to leave he threw a tantrum and was throwing furniture and glasses around the house. He has threatened to use all his police powers to destroy me if I ever tried to leave him. He also on numerous occasions threatened to spray hair spray on my face with a lighter to blow it up. He has said that he could sit and envision my whole face on fire. On December 28, 1992 he threatened to follow, stalk and harass me. On December 29, 1992, he had me arrested by lying to the Saugus Police saying I had hidden his gun. I did not touch his gun. He came into the bedroom where I was sleeping with two other police officers. They woke me up, refused to let me put on any clothes, placed me in handcuffs and brought me to the station. They refused to tell me why I was being arrested. I was released without being charged within 1 ½ hours saying I could go. I am in fear that he will stalk, harass and cause me mental and physical harm.”

According to a report by a Saugus Police officer and call records I obtained from Saugus PD, the incident on December 29th was classified as a family disturbance, but Valarie’s parents claim that it was much more than that. George and Linda Fiorenza posted their daughter’s story in their words on a now defunct website called realcrimes.com. When it was active, the site covered cases with suspected law enforcement involvement. So, according to George and Linda’s story posted on that website, on the night of December 29th, Paul was allegedly holding a gun to Valarie’s head and had beaten her for hours. When the officers arrived, Paul told them Valarie hid his gun. The officers handcuffed Valarie, who was wearing just underwear, a t-shirt, and high-heeled shoes, and brought her to the police station without letting her get dressed.

The protection order was granted, but despite the allegations Valarie raised in the affidavit, her family said that Paul was not disciplined or prevented from continuing his job as a police officer for Saugus Police. Saugus Police told the Boston Globe they had no grounds to discipline Paul. The attorney representing the town, John Vasapolli Jr., said that a restraining order filed against a police officer is not a basis for discipline. However, Vasapolli also admitted that the town didn’t do its own investigation into the allegations of abuse…Not after the December incident, and not after Valarie filed a 209A for a second time.

Valarie Fiorenza’s story continues on Dark Downeast. Press play to hear the episode wherever you get your podcasts.