The story of Joseph Vulevic (Chef Joe Vuli) and his nephew/business partner Marash Gojcaj unfolded on the latest installment of "Unusual Suspects." Vulevic and Gojcaj were co-owners of Gusto’s, an Italian restaurant in Danbury, CT. Authorities suspect that the pressures of the failing restaurant, along with a night of heavy drinking, led Gojcaj to snap and kill his uncle.
After a lengthy trial, a jury found Gojcaj guilty of murder. He was convicted of shooting Vulevic, cutting him up, and dumping his body parts across state lines inside six black garbage bags in 2004.
An investigator who'd worked the case said, “I had never investigated a disappearance where someone had been dismembered and dumped in another state. It just seemed truly hardcore.”
The family was stunned, with Vulevic's daughter struggling to make sense of what had happened. “We all knew [Marash] as a good guy, hard-working, and he was part of our family," she said. "We grew up around him, and you don’t think of your family as someone who would do something like that.”
Gojcaj is currently serving 50 years in prison, though he has maintained his innocence and his attorney's efforts on his behalf continue. In July 2012, his attorney appealed Gojcaj's case to the state Supreme Court, and in October it is reported he's asked for a retrial as well.
The key issue of concern for both requests regards a witness for the prosecution. Gojcaj's attorney alleges that Stephen Nanai was offered a plea deal by the police in exchange for his testimony against Gojcaj; a fact that was not presented during the trial.
More shocking true crime stories are revealed every Sunday on "Unusual Suspects" at 10 p.m. ET on ID.
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