by
Maria Vitale Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
March 2, 2005
Long Island, NY (LifeNews.com) -- Relatives of a slain Long Island
woman say she was murdered because she refused to have an abortion.
Susan Ambrosino was shot in the head last week and then shoved into
a car trunk. The alleged killer, Steven Schiovone, was the father of
Ambrosino’s unborn child.
Ambrosino’s brother, Anthony Napolitano, said at a news conference that Schiovone wanted Ambrosino to have an abortion, an idea that repulsed her.
"She had a love for life and even more love for children," Napolitano said. "We believe it was this love of life, of her refusal to get an abortion, that compelled her killer ... " to murder her.
The 26-year-old Ambrosino was discovered in a car truck Tuesday in South Jamaica. The woman was last seen Monday night after she left her home to meet Schiovone in New Hyde Park for dinner.
Schiovone, 35, has been arraigned in Queens on second-degree murder charges and was ordered held without bail. Schiovone’s attorney, William Petrillo, said Schiovone is innocent and is “shell-shocked” by the arrest.
Authorities charged Schiovone after a friend said Schiovone had a problem and gave a gun to the friend to hide.
Ambrosino’s family say she was planning to tell her ex-husband, Keith Ambrosino, about the pregnancy after her dinner with Schiovone. “We feel that's why Steve tried to silence her," Napolitano said.
Susan Ambrosino’s uncle, Richard DiBartolo, said, "Steven was a wolf in sheep's clothing. As far as we are concerned, his name is Judas."
Napolitano said one of the most difficult parts of the ordeal was telling Ambrosino’s 9-year-old daughter, Taylor, that her mother had been killed. “Making the words come to my mouth was the hardest thing I've ever done," he said.
Meanwhile, Ambrosino’s father, Robert Detz, said, “She was a loving daughter, a tremendous mother, a good friend to everyone.”
The murder is just one of a number of killings across the country involving pregnant women. Research indicates that violence against women increases when a woman becomes pregnant and shortly after she gives birth.
