Suspicious death is murder, detectives say
[Police investigate a suspicious death at the corner of Manatee and Bayview in Bellair. Atoyia Deans, Times]
BELLEAIR — BELLEAIR — A Belleair man is suspected of killing his wife and traveling across the country to elude arrest.
Sheriff’s detectives say Ryan Cataneo, 40, murdered his wife, 39-year-old Deana Cataneo. Her body was found in a pricey home at 7 Baybrook Place on Friday after relatives visiting for Thanksgiving couldn’t reach the couple.
By that time, her husband was across the country, detectives say. He was last seen on Tuesday in Marrero, Louisiana.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said late Saturday that the medical examiner determined the cause of death was homicidal violence.
The sheriff’s office obtained an arrest warrant on a first-degree murder charge for Ryan Michael Cataneo.
Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Bordner wouldn’t detail the evidence against the husband because he said it could interfere with the integrity of the criminal case.
It was the most information yet released in a mystery that began on Friday morning, when Deana Cataneo’s relatives came looking for Bob Green.
Green, 66, mowed the lawn and trimmed the hedges on the orange speckled grounds for the couple’s landlord. He knew the Cataneos as kind, jovial people.
About 11 a.m., Cataneo’s parents arrived at his house. Her father and stepmother were visiting from out of state. They planned to eat a late meal together on Thanksgiving but weren’t able to reach the couple.
Green allowed them inside the back door with his key to the house. The home was unusually cool.
The step-mother called the Deana’s name twice and stepped into the bedroom.
Then she started to scream. The father yelled for Green to dial 911. Deana Cataneo’s body was lifeless on the bed with a sheet covering it.
The body was pale and ashen. There was no odor in the room, Green said.
Records show the couple were married in Key West in March. Deana Cataneo owned a business called Coast to Coast Installers and listed its address as that of the home.
Ryan Cataneo has no criminal history in Florida, where he has lived for years. But a 1987 article in the Los Angeles Times and court records suggest Cataneo faced serious charges when he was 19 years old. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl with two other teens. It was unclear late Saturday how those charges were resolved.
Kerry Aurit, Deana Cataneo’s brother-in-law, said the couple met in high school. They both ran the business, which installs rubber floors for playgrounds, Aurit said.
He said the family has known her since she was a teenager. He learned that she was dead after two deputies knocked on the door of his California home wanting to know if he had heard from his brother.
"There’s no way. There’s just no way," Aurit said. "If you know my brother, he’s soft. He’s a very soft person. This doesn’t make sense at all."
–Stephanie Garry and Austin Bogues,Times Staff Writers