Watch CBS News

Steger Woman's Alleged Killer Was Childhood Friend

KITTY HAWK, N.C. (CBS) -- Some new developments have surfaced in the case of a suburban woman who was found murdered last week in Virginia.

As WBBM Newsradio 780's David Roe reports, Danielle Dennis-Towne, 18, of Steger, was shot to death last week in Kitty Hawk, N.C. The gunman was a friend she'd had since childhood, police say.

LISTEN: Newsradio 780's David Roe reports

Podcast

Dennis-Towne was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head, according to the Virginia State Medical Examiner's office. Investigators from the office used dental records to identify Dennis-Towne's body.

The man accused of killing Dennis-Towne, Enrico Mascaro, 19, is on his way to Kitty Hawk to face murder charges.

Mascaro was arrested last Friday in Virginia, tracked there by police, who say Dennis-Towne's body was found in the trunk of Mascaro's car.

Family members say Dennis-Towne and the suspect were friends and that she had been visiting Mascaro. The young woman had planned to attend Ripon College in Wisconsin.

"She had her whole life planned out, what she was going to do," Dennis-Towne's grandmother, Sandra Joyce, told CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman. "She was following that path."

Mascaro was being held in the Alleghany County, Va., regional jail on a fugitive-from-justice charge, a jail official said early Monday. The man, now of Nags Head, N.C., was expected to be arraigned Monday and extradited back to Kitty Hawk.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS Radio and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.