From James Olivieri’s appeal: During the early morning hours of January 14, 1988, James Charles Olivieri and his life-long friend, Dominic Puliafico, were driving by the Office Club in Great Falls, Montana, when they spotted and picked up a hitchhiker, Ethel Woods. Twenty-one-year-old Ethel was a deaf-mute, who communicated with the two men by writing notes. Shortly after discovering her handicap, Puliafico, indicated to Olivieri that, “this would be perfect,” with regard to raping Ethel.
One of the notes Ethel wrote to Olivieri and Puliafico asked if the two men knew of any parties occurring that night. Olivieri and Puliafico responded affirmatively and drove Ethel to their apartment. Outside of the apartment, the three encountered two neighbors and Ray Canto, a friend of Olivieri and Puliafico who had been with the two men earlier in the evening. Following a brief discussion, Olivieri, Puliafico, Ethel and Canto entered the apartment.
Shortly after entering the apartment, Olivieri began writing suggestive notes to Ethel, asking her to engage in sexual intercourse. Ethel refused. Puliafico then choked Ethel until she was unconscious. Puliafico and Olivieri proceeded to remove Ethel’s clothes. At this point, after Olivieri warned Canto that the upcoming events were going to get serious, Canto chose to leave the apartment.
Puliafico then proceeded to rape and beat Ethel as she slipped in and out of consciousness. Olivieri admitted to holding Ethel’s feet while Puliafico raped her, but denied raping or beating Ethel. Instead, Olivieri admitted that during the time Puliafico raped and
beat Ethel, he watched the two and laughed.
Thereafter, while the badly beaten Ethel was lying on the floor, Olivieri and Puliafico went into the kitchen and ate macaroni and cheese as they listened to what they believed were Ethel’s last breaths of life. Puliafico then raped Ethel for the second time. Following the second rape and to ensure that she was dead, Olivieri and Puliafico took turns striking Ethel on the back of her head with a baseball bat, both men striking her twice.
Olivieri and Puliafico then moved Ethel’s nude body into a bedroom. Later that same day, they wrapped Ethel’s body in a carpet they obtained from the basement of the apartment. They then weighted the carpet-wrapped body with a cinder block, which they purchased at a local store. That evening, they removed the carpet-wrapped body from the apartment and dumped it in the Missouri
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River, hoping that it would be destroyed by the two dams in that area. The carpet-wrapped body, however, was discovered nearly two
months later on March 2, 1988. An autopsy revealed that Ethel died of blunt force trauma to her head. Additionally, the autopsy revealed that all of the blunt force trauma Ethel received was inflicted prior to her death.
On March 21, 1989, Olivieri, who had returned to his home state of Massachusetts within a few weeks following Ethel’s death, was extradited from Massachusetts to Montana. Puliafico, who had returned to Massachusetts a few months following Ethel’s death, was also extradited to Montana. The extradition warrant was based upon information provided by Olivieri’s brother, Fred, also of Massachusetts,
who telephoned Cascade County officials after Olivieri and Puliafico had, on various occasions, bragged to him in detail about raping and killing a deaf-mute girl in Montana and dumping her body in the Missouri River. Additionally, Olivieri told Fred that it was every mans fantasy to rape and kill a woman.
Montana murder suspects held in Boston
State of Montana v James Charles Olivieri 1990 (conviction and sentence affirmed)
Board of Pardons and Parole: James Olivieri – parole denied (next hearing 2017)
INMATE INFORMATION
DOC ID# 28875
NAME: JAMES CHARLES OLIVIERI
CURRENT STATUS: INMATE
LAST STATUS CHANGE: Wednesday, February 03, 2016
GENDER: Male
INFORMATION CURRENT AS OF: Friday, March 25, 2016
PRISON:
CROSSROADS CORRECTIONAL CENTER
50 Crossroads Drive
SHELBY, MT 59474
(406) 434-7055
PHYSICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Blue
HEIGHT: 5 FT 11 IN
WEIGHT: 165 lbs
BUILD: MEDIUM RACE: WHITE
SKIN TONE: MEDIUM
L/R HANDED: R YEAR OF BIRTH: 1966
BIRTH PLACE: Massachusetts
CITIZENSHIP: United States
MT RESIDENT: N
AKAs
JAMES CHARLESPETE OLIVIERI
SCARS, MARKS, TATTOOS AND OTHER PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
TYPE:
DESCRIPTION:
TATTOO ARM, RIGHT UPPER 2 Roses; Heart W/ Banner & Sword; 2 Birds
TATTOO FOREARM, RIGHT 2 Girls W/ Swords
TATTOO BREAST, RIGHT Skull W/ Bandana
TATTOO FOREARM, LEFT 2 Goules (Collage) W/ Swords
LEGAL RECORD
DOCKET: BDC-89-051
COUNTY: CASCADE COUNTY
JUDGE: MCCARVEL
COUNTS: 1
LEGAL TYPE: Original Sentence
SENTENCE TYPE: PRISON OFFENSE: Deliberate Homicide
CODE: 455102
OFFENSE DATE: 1/14/1988
SENTENCE PRONOUNCED: 12/7/1989
NET SENTENCE (MONTHS): 1200
DOCKET: BDC-89-051
COUNTY: CASCADE COUNTY
JUDGE: MCCARVEL
COUNTS: 1
LEGAL TYPE: Original Sentence
SENTENCE TYPE: PRISON OFFENSE: Committed w/Dangerous Weapon
CODE: 4618221
OFFENSE DATE: 1/14/1988
SENTENCE PRONOUNCED: 12/7/1989
NET SENTENCE (MONTHS): 120
INMATE INFORMATION
DOC ID# 28248
NAME: DOMINIC PULIAFICO
CURRENT STATUS: INMATE
LAST STATUS CHANGE: Saturday, June 13, 2015
GENDER: Male
INFORMATION CURRENT AS OF: Friday, March 25, 2016
PRISON:
CROSSROADS CORRECTIONAL CENTER
50 Crossroads Drive
SHELBY, MT 59474
(406) 434-7055
PHYSICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS
HAIR COLOR: Blonde
EYE COLOR: Green
HEIGHT: 5 FT 7 IN
WEIGHT: 160 lbs
BUILD: MEDIUM RACE: WHITE
SKIN TONE: LIGHT
L/R HANDED: L YEAR OF BIRTH: 1966
BIRTH PLACE: Massachusetts
CITIZENSHIP: United States
MT RESIDENT: N
AKAs
DOMINIC JOSEPH PULIAFICO
LEGAL RECORD
DOCKET: BDC-89-051
COUNTY: CASCADE COUNTY
JUDGE: MCCARVEL
COUNTS: 1
LEGAL TYPE: Original Sentence
SENTENCE TYPE: PRISON OFFENSE: Deliberate Homicide
CODE: 455102
OFFENSE DATE: 1/14/1988
SENTENCE PRONOUNCED: 6/28/1989
NET SENTENCE (MONTHS): 1200
DOCKET: BDC-89-051
COUNTY: CASCADE COUNTY
JUDGE: MCCARVEL
COUNTS: 1
LEGAL TYPE: Original Sentence
SENTENCE TYPE: PRISON OFFENSE: Sexual Intercourse without Consent
CODE: 455503
OFFENSE DATE: 1/14/1988
SENTENCE PRONOUNCED: 6/28/1989
NET SENTENCE (MONTHS): 300 Home
