PHOENIX, AZ—Eugene Maraventano was sentenced on Monday, December 12 to 25 years in prison for the murders of his wife and son in 2013. Maraventano, 67, said he feared giving his wife HIV after his having sex with prostitutes. Maraventano explained his son was jobless and feared what he would do with his life, which was his motive for killing his son.
In the initial investigation of the case, Maraventano was deemed mentally unfit for the trial. A judge later concluded his competency had been restored and the trial would move forward.
Maraventano told investigators he worried about his and his wife’s adult son who lived at home with them. He explained Bryan had no job or girlfriend and played video games all day. Eugene Maraventano further explained his fears of infecting his wife, Janet, with HIV after his encounters with prostitutes while working a rail line in New York. It remains undetermined if Eugene had been diagnosed with HIV.
During an interview with police in 2013, Maraventano relayed his memory of going to his kitchen, where he grabbed a knife, and proceeded upstairs to his bedroom. His wife was asleep in bed when he stabbed her twice.
He then moved on to Bryan room, where he attacked him, after his son answered Eugene’s knock on his door.
He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the deaths of Janet and Bryan Maraventano in November 2016. The prison term was the result of a plea deal.
