Quincy inheritance murder case on new Investigation Discovery show

QUINCY — The murder case of a nephew who had his great-aunt killed for her inheritance more than 20 years ago will be featured on an episode of the new Investigation Discovery series "I Went Undercover."

The episode will focus on the killing of Marina Calabro, 84, in Quincy, and the subsequent work of a man named Jim Morel, who got his former bandmate, Jason Weir, to confess to the killing while he was wearing a wire.

"This series is all about regular people taking great risks and going undercover," producer Pamela Deutsch said in an interview. "When we heard about Jim's story and his bravery, it was a natural fit for the series."

Anthony Calabro paroled: Man who plotted to kill his Quincy great-aunt for inheritance has been granted parole

In 2001, Anthony Calabro and his two friends, Weir and Thomas Lally, planned to kill his great-aunt, Marina Calabro, and make it look like she accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. They planned to get the insurance money from her death.

Weir later testified at the trial, and told Morel when he was wearing a wire, that Lally, a former Norton man, beat and suffocated the woman while Anthony Calabro stood outside her Bedford Street home as a lookout.

Anthony Calabro's inheritance, split with his father, included $200,000 from his great aunt's savings and $500,000 from the sale of her home.

March 3, 2016: Court upholds conviction in murder of Quincy hairdresser for inheritance money

Lally was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life. Weir took a plea for accessory after the fact, testified against Lally at trial and received the maximum sentence for the charge, seven years. Lally testified in his own defense, saying the roles were reversed and Weir was the real killer.

Anthony Calabro, in 2006, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was released from prison in December of last year,

The Quincy case will air on Investigation Discovery at 10 p.m. Wednesday, May 18, and should be available for streaming starting at the end of June on Discovery+.

'I didn't know what to do'

In 2002, Morel spoke to The Patriot Ledger about what he did after Weir told him at a TGIF restaurant in North Attleboro that Marina Calabro didn't fall down the stairs, she was bludgeoned with a frying pan, then strangled.

Morel went to the police and proposed a plan to secretly record Weir confessing a second time, worried that he might be the next one killed, according to the 2002 article.

"We feel like in this case, such of it was a predicament, of what to do when a good friend mentions they murdered someone," Deutsch said.

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Retired Patriot Ledger Reporter Dennis Tatz covered the case and trial of Lally and was interviewed for the series. He said he remembered that Morel was scared at first, because he didn't want the police to think that he had anything to do with Calabro's death.

"He offered to wear a wire," Tatz said. "It wasn't the cops suggesting it to him."

Tatz and Deutsch both said Marina Calabro's death, originally declared an accidental fall down the stairs by the medical examiner, would have never been prosecuted if it weren't for Morel.

"The police were suspicious, but they had no evidence, until Jason Weir opened his big mouth," Tatz said., "Without him, the case might be unsolved today."

Former prosecutor Susan Corcoran lost her job after sharing tapes entered into evidence, from co-defendant Jason Weir wearing a wire, with CBS TV Network's "48 Hours Mystery," which covered the case in 2006.

The case was previously featured on Oxygen's "Accident, Suicide or Murder" in 2021. Tatz said he was also interviewed for the Oxygen episode.

See our past coverage of this case

Dec. 31, 2021: Man who plotted to kill his Quincy great-aunt for inheritance has been granted parole

March 3, 2016: Court upholds conviction in murder of Quincy hairdresser for inheritance money

Nov. 5, 2015: Court to hear appeal from man convicted in Quincy murder

July 28, 2006: Prosecutor in Quincy murder trial for slain hairdresser loses job after helping TV station

June 12, 2006: Anthony Calabro gets life in Quincy murder

Feb. 16, 2006: First trial set in Quincy murder for Thomas Lally

Nov. 2, 2002: FRIENDSHIP AND BETRAYAL: Moments of terror for informant who says best friend recounted Quincy killing

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Reach reporter Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Quincy woman's murder subject of TV show from Investigation Discovery