Tomaselli Sisters | Postmortem Heartbeat Terrifies Sisters Who Suffocated Their Father

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[00:01:12] This is True Crime Psychology and Personality, where we discuss the pathology behind some

[00:01:18] of the most horrific crimes and those who committed them from a scientifically informed

[00:01:23] perspective.

[00:01:24] I'm Dr. Todd Grande.

[00:01:27] I have a PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision, and I'm a licensed professional counselor

[00:01:32] of mental health.

[00:01:33] Dr. Todd Grande, that's my YouTube channel.

[00:01:37] Today's question is, can I analyze the case of Mary Beth Tomaselli and Linda Roberts?

[00:01:43] First I'll look at the background of this case, move to the timeline of the crime, then

[00:01:47] offer my analysis.

[00:01:49] Mary Beth Tomaselli was born on February 10, 1956.

[00:01:54] She had a sister named Linda Ann Roberts, who was born on June 2, 1957.

[00:02:00] When the sisters were young, their father, Anthony Tomaselli, moved the family to Palm

[00:02:05] Harbor, Florida.

[00:02:07] This is a small town 24 miles west of Tampa.

[00:02:11] The sisters live with their parents and one brother.

[00:02:14] Anthony worked as a barber.

[00:02:16] When he retired, he stayed in Palm Harbor.

[00:02:19] His wife died in the late 1990s.

[00:02:21] In 2004, he met a woman named Shirley Shannon, and they became romantically involved.

[00:02:28] The couple lived in a home at 530 Nottingham Close.

[00:02:32] Mary Beth married a heavy equipment operator.

[00:02:34] Her family members were not too happy about this.

[00:02:37] They viewed her husband as beneath her.

[00:02:40] He was described as having no common sense.

[00:02:43] The couple had two daughters.

[00:02:44] One of them was named Lauren.

[00:02:47] Mary Beth and her husband divorced in the early 2000s.

[00:02:50] Linda Roberts married a man named Ted, who allegedly mistreated her.

[00:02:54] He was arrested once and Linda divorced him.

[00:02:57] However, she kept going back to him.

[00:03:00] They had an on-again, off-again relationship.

[00:03:02] In 2001, Linda started working as a secretary and nurse assistant for a physician who had

[00:03:09] a primary care practice with two locations.

[00:03:13] She became a patient of her employer as well, and he prescribed her medications.

[00:03:18] At various times, Mary Beth and her daughter Lauren also worked for the same physician.

[00:03:24] Eventually, the focus for all three women became Anthony Tomaselli.

[00:03:29] By early 2015, Anthony and his common-law wife Shirley both had serious medical concerns.

[00:03:37] Anthony had cancer, dementia, and cardiac problems.

[00:03:40] He was in pretty bad shape, but there was no clear indication of when he was going to die.

[00:03:46] Anthony could have lived for months or even years.

[00:03:50] Shirley's medical situation was more life-threatening.

[00:03:52] She died on February 22, 2015.

[00:03:56] Because Shirley had functioned as a caretaker for Anthony, Mary Beth and Linda now had a problem.

[00:04:02] The sisters stepped in and cared for their father.

[00:04:05] In addition, Mary Beth's daughter Lauren moved into Anthony's residence to provide him support.

[00:04:12] Mary Beth and Linda found caring for their father to be more difficult than they expected,

[00:04:17] and he refused to go into an assisted living program.

[00:04:21] This was particularly frustrating for the sisters because Anthony's insurance covered

[00:04:26] this type of service.

[00:04:28] The sisters did not know what to do.

[00:04:29] They were at their wits' end, and they had concerns about how much their father was going

[00:04:33] to suffer before he died.

[00:04:35] Anthony Tomaselli was not making wise health decisions.

[00:04:39] For example, he was regularly consuming alcohol, even though this did not mix well with the

[00:04:44] medication he was taking.

[00:04:46] He was actually using the alcohol to take the medication.

[00:04:50] Now moving to the timeline of the crime.

[00:04:53] On March 6, 2015 at 5.53 a.m., Mary Beth's daughter Lauren called 911 and reported a

[00:04:59] medical emergency.

[00:05:01] When first responders arrived, they found that Anthony Tomaselli was dead.

[00:05:06] Mary Beth and Linda told the authorities that they discovered their 85-year-old father unresponsive

[00:05:11] on the couch and attempted CPR as they directed Lauren to call 911.

[00:05:17] Considering Anthony's age and his many serious health problems, no autopsy was performed.

[00:05:22] The authorities assumed there was no foul play.

[00:05:26] The $120,000 that was generated through the sale of Anthony's home was split between

[00:05:31] Mary Beth, Linda, and their brother.

[00:05:35] The sisters went on with their lives.

[00:05:37] Linda decided to move to North Carolina to live with her ex-husband.

[00:05:41] Mary Beth stayed in Palm Harbor.

[00:05:43] A few years later, in August 2018, Mary Beth contacted a cover band musician named Anthony

[00:05:49] Marsh on Facebook and they became romantically involved.

[00:05:54] Anthony was sometimes referred to as Tony.

[00:05:57] I will use the name Tony to avoid confusion between the two Anthonys.

[00:06:01] Tony had a reputation for engaging in casual sexual encounters.

[00:06:06] The romance between Mary Beth and Tony only lasted about a month.

[00:06:10] By this time, Linda had returned to Florida after allegedly being physically mistreated

[00:06:15] by her ex-husband in North Carolina.

[00:06:18] After being introduced to Tony, Linda reached out to him because, just like her sister Mary

[00:06:23] Beth, she also had low standards for romantic partners.

[00:06:28] Linda and Tony started a casual sexual relationship.

[00:06:32] Mary Beth, of course, was not too happy about this.

[00:06:34] It created an awkward situation due to her prior relationship with Tony.

[00:06:40] Throughout the romance with Tony, Linda demonstrated erratic and disturbing behavior, which bordered

[00:06:45] on stalking.

[00:06:47] Tony ended the relationship with her in January 2019.

[00:06:52] Linda wanted to continue having sex with Tony and was searching for some way to re-engage

[00:06:56] with him.

[00:06:57] She contacted him on February 12, 2019 and asked him to come to her home.

[00:07:04] After Tony arrived, Linda blamed her disturbing behavior on mental health problems and tried

[00:07:09] to explain where those problems originated.

[00:07:13] At this point, as Linda and Tony were sitting in Linda's living room, she started talking

[00:07:18] about the death of her father, Anthony Tomaselli.

[00:07:22] Sensing the conversation was headed to a dark place, Tony started recording Linda using his

[00:07:27] cell phone.

[00:07:28] It's not clear if she realized what he was doing, but based on the images that were generated,

[00:07:34] she should have.

[00:07:36] Here is the account that Linda gave to Tony.

[00:07:39] Back in early 2015, Linda and her sister Mary Beth were concerned about how much their father,

[00:07:44] Anthony, was suffering, so they decided to kill him.

[00:07:48] Linda did not believe her behavior was consistent with murder.

[00:07:51] She referred to it as euthanizing.

[00:07:54] During the early morning hours of March 6, 2015, the sisters implemented their plan.

[00:07:59] They did not want Lauren to find out what they were doing, so they gave her a sedative,

[00:08:04] telling her it was Tylenol.

[00:08:06] After Lauren was sedated and no longer a danger to the plan, Linda took about 15 of her prescribed

[00:08:12] halcyon pills and mixed them with vodka and Diet Coke.

[00:08:17] This was the drink that Anthony had every night to take his medication.

[00:08:21] Considered as a benzodiazepine, the sisters hoped that Anthony would die after consuming

[00:08:26] this drug.

[00:08:27] Although Anthony did consume it as planned, he did not die.

[00:08:31] He fell asleep and woke up a few minutes later.

[00:08:34] Determined to complete their plan, the sisters took a pillow and tried to suffocate Anthony,

[00:08:39] but he fought them off.

[00:08:41] At this point, the women stuffed a washcloth down Anthony's throat, pinched his nose, and

[00:08:47] held down his arms.

[00:08:49] Anthony died as a result.

[00:08:51] Initially, Marybeth and Linda were not too sure that Anthony was dead because he still

[00:08:55] had a pulse.

[00:08:56] They started to panic and wondered how this was possible.

[00:09:00] Eventually, they figured out this was caused by Anthony's pacemaker.

[00:09:04] It continued to operate even though he was dead.

[00:09:08] Marybeth and Linda did not want to report Anthony's death immediately.

[00:09:11] They went to sleep and discovered him unresponsive in the morning.

[00:09:17] After hearing Linda's story of homicide, Toni asked her to turn herself in to the

[00:09:21] police.

[00:09:23] She refused, insisting that she did nothing wrong.

[00:09:26] She simply didn't want her father Anthony to suffer.

[00:09:30] On the next day, February 13, 2019, Toni went to the police and showed them the video.

[00:09:36] On March 5, the police interviewed Marybeth Tomaselli and Linda Roberts.

[00:09:42] Marybeth confessed right away.

[00:09:44] She claimed that she did not want her father Anthony to suffer, and she insisted that she

[00:09:48] did the right thing.

[00:09:50] As far as who had the idea of using the medication to kill, Marybeth blamed Linda.

[00:09:56] When the police spoke to Linda, she initially lied.

[00:09:59] Eventually, she admitted to killing her father.

[00:10:02] Linda claimed that Marybeth was the ringleader, so each sister blamed the other.

[00:10:07] Both sisters were arrested that same day and charged with first-degree murder.

[00:10:12] In 2021, Marybeth entered into a plea bargain.

[00:10:16] She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

[00:10:21] Linda also pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

[00:10:23] However, she received 20 years in prison.

[00:10:27] The women were able to avoid a first-degree murder conviction.

[00:10:31] Now moving to my analysis.

[00:10:33] Here are my thoughts on a few areas that stood out to me in this case.

[00:10:37] Item number one.

[00:10:38] Marybeth and her sister Linda managed to commit a murder without being detected.

[00:10:43] They killed a victim who was elderly and seriously ill.

[00:10:46] Therefore, no one suspected foul play.

[00:10:49] After the sisters confessed and were arrested, the state maintained the position that the

[00:10:53] women committed murder but did not believe they acted with malice.

[00:10:58] Marybeth and Linda would have received the same financial benefit if they had simply waited

[00:11:02] for their father to die.

[00:11:04] So there really wasn't a money motive.

[00:11:06] The state believed that this case was sort of a mercy killing.

[00:11:11] Item number two.

[00:11:12] The confessions represent a significant mystery in this case.

[00:11:16] Anthony's death wasn't being investigated.

[00:11:18] It was not an open case.

[00:11:20] There was no case.

[00:11:21] His death had never been considered suspicious.

[00:11:25] If the sisters had simply remained silent, they never would have been caught.

[00:11:29] Why did Linda tell Tony about the murder?

[00:11:32] And why did the sisters confess to the police later?

[00:11:36] Here are my thoughts on what happened here.

[00:11:38] This is just a theory, my opinion.

[00:11:40] Marybeth and Linda committed the same crime of murder but for different reasons.

[00:11:45] Similarly, in the years following the murder, their reactions to their behavior were different.

[00:11:51] Marybeth genuinely wanted her father not to suffer and was worried about upcoming surgeries

[00:11:56] that he was going to need.

[00:11:58] To her, it just didn't seem worth it for him to remain alive.

[00:12:02] She was thinking about this from his point of view, or at least that's what she believed.

[00:12:07] Linda shared some of the concerns about her father's suffering, but primarily she was

[00:12:11] tired of taking care of him.

[00:12:14] She wanted her father dead because it would be easier for her.

[00:12:17] The murder was Linda's idea.

[00:12:20] She was fully committed to the plan.

[00:12:23] Marybeth would not have killed her father if Linda had not introduced the idea.

[00:12:28] In the aftermath of the murder, Marybeth experienced shame and guilt.

[00:12:32] This prevented her from telling anybody about her crime.

[00:12:36] She felt badly about committing murder.

[00:12:39] This was not something she was eager to share with other people.

[00:12:42] Linda, on the other hand, was cold and callous.

[00:12:46] She did not have any guilt or shame.

[00:12:48] Rather, she viewed the murder she committed as an asset, something that could be used to

[00:12:54] her advantage.

[00:12:55] When she was rejected by Tony, Linda was not happy.

[00:12:59] She wanted to continue having sex with him and felt as though she needed to explain the

[00:13:03] behavior that drove him away.

[00:13:06] Linda decided to attribute her bad behavior to the murder.

[00:13:09] In a sense, Linda was playing the victim.

[00:13:13] Her mental health was harmed through her own homicidal actions.

[00:13:18] Of course, Linda framed the murder as a mercy killing.

[00:13:21] She was only doing what she needed to prevent her father from suffering.

[00:13:25] Linda received money for killing her father, but she would have received this anyway.

[00:13:30] The real value to her was emotional.

[00:13:33] The murder became part of her tragic story, a reason for people to feel sorry for her

[00:13:37] and to have sex with her.

[00:13:39] Item number three, was justice served in this case?

[00:13:44] Some people have been surprised by the state's position that Marybeth and Linda did not act

[00:13:48] with malice.

[00:13:49] Again, the state argued that Anthony was in bad physical condition right before the murder.

[00:13:54] Therefore, the sisters were going to benefit financially soon either way.

[00:13:59] Money could not have been the motive for the homicide.

[00:14:02] I can appreciate the state's position, but there is another way to view this.

[00:14:06] Considering how the sisters had a history of impulsive behavior, it would not be surprising

[00:14:11] if they killed Anthony to get the money a little earlier than they would have.

[00:14:16] In addition, the nature of the murder was particularly heinous.

[00:14:19] The women drugged and suffocated their father.

[00:14:22] Their sadistic behavior was premeditated.

[00:14:25] I could understand leniency in this case if Anthony had stated some type of desire to

[00:14:30] die, like his daughters were truly attempting to fulfill his wishes.

[00:14:35] But that's not what happened here.

[00:14:37] The state should have pursued the original charge of first-degree murder.

[00:14:41] Now moving to my final thoughts.

[00:14:43] The functioning of Anthony's pacemaker and the panic this induced in Marybeth and Linda

[00:14:48] reminds me of Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart.

[00:14:52] This is a short story about a killer who murdered a man and put the man's dismembered body under

[00:14:57] floorboards while being questioned by the police.

[00:15:01] The killer, who may have had some mental health problems like psychosis, heard a heartbeat

[00:15:06] from under the floorboards and confessed.

[00:15:09] The case of the Tomaselli sisters demonstrates how the feelings from committing a homicide

[00:15:14] can be unexpected and manifest in unusual ways.

[00:15:19] In Linda's case, The Tell-Tale Heart had nothing to do with feelings of guilt or shame,

[00:15:24] but rather connected with her own lack of empathy, self-centeredness, and impulsiveness.

[00:15:30] The Tell-Tale Heart not only revealed a killer, it revealed her narcissism.

[00:15:44] This has been True Crime Psychology and Personality from Ars Langa Media.

[00:15:49] This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only.

[00:15:54] Ars Langa, Vita Brevis.

[00:16:24] Ars Langa, Vita Brevis.