Mystery abounds in man's death

When 49-year-old Paul Brasberger suddenly died in January of 2012, a Delaware County medical examiner told his family he had heart disease, which may have contributed to his death.

But after meeting with Brasberger's relatives, medical examiner Fredric N. Hellman had second thoughts. In a report, he called the death suspicious, concluding it "may not have been a consequence of natural disease" but rather "from the effects of an undetectable-to-date lethal substance administered to him unawares."

Last week, the case grew murkier.

A county jury found Brasberger's former fiancee guilty of fraud over their relationship and awarded $137,000 to his estate. The lawsuit, brought by his relatives, claimed Jo-Ann Stachowicz never intended to marry Brasberger, was only after his money, and was engaged to another man at the same time.

On Friday, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said the verdict and information from the family could prompt a new look at the Upper Chichester man's death.

"The case is never closed," Whelan said.

When reached by phone, Stachowicz, 48, of Westville, N.J., had no comment and referred questions to her lawyer.

Her attorney, Larry Rubin, said the jury got it wrong. He plans an appeal.

Tony Brasberger said his family has spent 31/2 years and $70,000 on legal fees, investigators, and travel to examine his brother's death.

"I know one thing," he said in an interview last week. "Paul did not die a natural death."

Paul Brasberger grew up in Westville and graduated in 1981 from Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights. After school, he found work as a drywall installer.

He married, but he divorced in 1999. He loved to fish and hunt, and his Catholic faith was important to him, according to his brother.

"Paul was a very simple man," Tony Brasberger said.

He also had his troubles. A third DUI in 2007 sent Paul Brasberger to prison for six months and cost him his driver's license.

Then came Stachowicz. Trial testimony, court records, and interviews with Brasberger's relatives offer a glimpse of how their relationship evolved.

In June 2009, Brasberger met Stachowicz while working on her mother's house in New Jersey. She lived in Conroe, Texas, but was back in the area after burying her husband in Delaware County.

Stephen Stachowicz, 54, had died that month of heart disease and diabetes, according to an autopsy report.

Paul and Jo-Ann hit it off. In September, Brasberger moved in with her in Texas. That Christmas, they were engaged.

The couple opened bank accounts, and Brasberger named Stachowicz as beneficiary on his retirement accounts. She also became his power of attorney - at his suggestion, she later testified at trial.

In April 2010, the couple bought a 2006 Ford F150 truck, equipped with a Breathalyzer, that Paul was able to use for commuting to his job in Texas.

Later, they relocated to West Chester, so Jo-Ann Stachowicz could undergo heart surgery, and eventually they moved to Upper Chichester.

Brasberger found a job as did Stachowicz, at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children.

In December 2011, Brasberger took out a $100,000 life insurance policy and named her as beneficiary.

The next month, he fell ill and died suddenly at home.

Barely two weeks later, Stachowicz got married.

She and Joe Cataldi Jr. had a long history.

They first met in 2008, when Stachowicz had helped him refinance his home, Cataldi told an investigator hired by Brasberger's brothers.

At the time, Stachowicz told him she was going through a divorce with Stephen. She and Cataldi got engaged - but parted ways in 2010.

But sometime after her engagement to Brasberger, the romance with Cataldi was rekindled.

In trial testimony, Cataldi's daughter Candace told jurors that her father, who lives in Spring Hill, Fla., got engaged to Stachowicz in March 2011 - while Stachowicz was already engaged to Brasberger.

Nine months later - the same month he got a life insurance policy - Brasberger learned about his fiancee's relationship with Cataldi.

Six weeks later, he was dead.

In the months that followed, Brasberger's brothers found the Ford F150 truck that the couple had purchased - but that she had said was stolen while she was on business trip to Atlanta.

Cataldi had the truck.

Stachowicz and her lawyer had explanations. She testified that she was pushed into a quick marriage with Cataldi.

"I was not in a good emotional mind," she testified.

Her lawyer said she gave the truck to Cataldi because she was afraid Paul Brasberger would drive drunk.

"I think she probably did the guy a favor," Rubin, her attorney, said in an interview last week. "It stopped him from driving without a license."

Stachowicz did many good things for Paul that the jury ignored, Rubin said. She paid for his medical, dental, and vision insurance and listed him as a beneficiary in her own life insurance policy, he said. "I believe my client was a good person trying to do good that got caught up in a situation with a family that did not like her very much," Rubin said.

Stachowicz never collected on the insurance policy. In the end, the insurer declined to pay because Brasberger failed to get a required medical test, said Todd Lasky, the lawyer for his estate.

But she did take control of some of his possessions and money. The lawsuit accused her of fraud and unjust enrichment.

The jury took about 31/2 hours to rule against her. They ordered her to pay $62,300 in compensatory damages and $75,000 in punitive damages, according to court records.

Whelan, the district attorney, said the death had raised suspicions at the time in 2012, but investigators couldn't find evidence of a crime.

He said they will now take a second look.

"If the family has new information, I wouldn't hesitate to sit down and review it," he said Friday.

Colleen Shepherd, 48, of Wallingford and jury foreperson, said the jury was struck by the deception over the truck and inconsistencies in Stachowicz's testimony involving trips to Florida.

"We didn't find her credible," she said in an interview.

To the end, one question haunted the jury, Shepherd said: "How did Paul die? I think it deserves an investigation."

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@MariSchaefer