When a famed defense attorney catches the eye of Nancy Grace, he vaults to success on TV as well as in the court room, but when he calls then-friend Nancy Grace from the back of a squad car, the mystery surrounding the brutal death of his wife only intensifies. What did he expect? In a bombshell discovery, “Injustice With Nancy Grace” unveils shocking details of what truly happened.
In the premiere episode of “Injustice with Nancy Grace,” debuting July 13 at 6 p.m. EST on Oxygen, Grace covers the murder of Pamela Vitale, a beloved wife and mother found dead after a brutal attack, her body desecrated.
Grace was close to both the victim and her husband, having been with them both just hours before the murder, and relives events leading up to Pam’s murder with never-before-heard details, as well as why injustice saturated the investigation and now….even the “end” of the story.
“It’s amazing to me what we’re doing with the Oxygen series. The cases we have hand-picked each stand for something critical in our justice system and each one involves an incredible injustice,” Grace explained.
On October 15, 2005, Pamela was found brutally bludgeoned to the death in a secluded, picturesque mountain area of Lafayette, California. The spot was extremely remote and difficult to get to. Who else but a resident would trek the side of a mountain to get to it? Her body was actually “carved” with symbols.
Vitale, a mom of two and wife of celebrity defense attorney Daniel Horowitz, was temporarily living in a prefab home with her husband, in a quaint setting surrounded by scenic rocks and lush trees, while their dream home was being built, literally just feet away.
Pamela was an accomplished software executive, described as both strong and intelligent. Her primary focus, however, was her family. In the months prior to her death, she spent most of her time devising and designing the perfect dream home, an authentic “Italian villa” she planned to share with her husband of 10 years.
It was a home that was supposed to become a gathering place for her children, Mario and Marisa Vitale, and a place to “spend holidays forever,” according to one of her 2005 writings.
With no known enemies and loved by anyone who knew her, Pam’s children adored her and loved spending time with her. When she was murdered, friends and family were not only saddened, but shocked beyond their wildest nightmares that someone as loving and selfless as Pamela would be the victim of homicidal violence.
Immediately, Daniel Horowitz became a suspect in his wife’s death. He was the last person to see her before he left for work that morning and he was the one who found her dead body when he came home that evening.
“We all know that statistics–when a woman is murdered–the first place you go is the husband,” Grace explained in the upcoming premiere episode ‘Injustice with Nancy Grace’ by Oxygen. “Familiarity breeds contempt.”
The murder appeared personal in nature. Pamela was found curled up in a fetal position with broken fingers, dislodged teeth and numerous head wounds, her body was literals carved with odd symbols. Was it an attempt to throw off cops?. There was no robbery and no sex assault, and the couple had reportedly also been having domestic spats.
But what Horowitz tells Grace at the crime scene changed everything. It was highly incriminating and “the moment he said [it], my world changed.”
“No money taken, no jewelry, no electronics…why? I knew this detail and I knew he had not told the cops that and I was really torn. Do I tell the cops or do I keep it a secret?”
“I broke down in tears because I did not want to tell police what I knew. Years of investigation becomes a way of life and at the very heart of that is seeking justice, seeking justice that speaks the truth, no matter what, no matter how…no matter who stands in the way.”
Then, in a twist, a local mom called to ask police to give her child a lie detector test over stolen credit card information. This lead to a break in the case the investigation took a turn no one was expecting. The details of the investigation will be explored in depth during the premiere of “Injustice with Nancy Grace”.
Years later, the memories of the crime still haunts Grace, who hopes the killer is never allowed to walk free again.
“This case of Pam’s brutal murder–the perp actually carved figures into her body. And this is a friend of mine. I’d just seen Pam a couple of nights before she was murdered and it was a lot for me to take in that she had been murdered in such a horrible, brutal fashion.”
The shocking details of what a killer did to Pamela and the motive behind it screams injustice to Grace, along with Pamela’s loved ones, who want the killer to be behind bars forever.
Learn more about the brutal, bizarre murder that tore a family apart and left a loving mother dead during the season premiere of “Injustice with Nancy Grace,” airing Saturday, July 13, at 6 p.m. EST, only on Oxygen.
Image by Ervin Gjata from Pixabay
