Backyard Bones: My Thoughts

Leonard Rizzo claims that he simply woke up one morning and his wife, Monika, was gone. Monika had not gone to work in over a week, and was supposedly home sick, yet he never reported her disappearance to the police. All of her belongings including her car where found at home.

Subsequently, police found not only Monika’s bones in his backyard, but the bones of three other woman. Experts suspect a wood chipper was used to break the bones down to the size they were found in Rizzo’s yard.

Read moreHere are my thoughts about Leonard Rizzo’s statements on Unsolved Mysteries. I feel most people will see the truth in this case, but I was asked to share my thoughts on it regardless so I am doing so.

1. It’s a huge red flag that Rizzo didn’t report his wife, Monika, missing. When we love and care for people, we have concerns when they “disappear”. We look for them. We call friends and family, co-workers, anyone we can think of , yet Rizzo did not. It’s highly suspect.
2. I find it interesting that Monika’s supervisor, Gilbert Saenz, said that Monika told them she wasn’t feeling well, yet Leonard speaks nothing about this. If your wife has been sick for over a week and then she disappears, most people would be very concerned.
3. Rizzo says, “I was very confused. I was, ah, it made no sense.”

   So then why didn’t he seek answers? He continues, “My wife and I were really close, there was no reason to believe she wouldn’t be coming back….wherever she had gone…ah…I just…I…I…have faith in her. I just…..chose to wait.”

   What is fascinating about this statement is that it is a complete contradiction. If you are really close to your wife and she doesn’t come home, you get concerned, because if you are close, you always know what the other is doing, right? Also notice Rizzo is stuttering as he talks, which is highly suggestive he is thinking on his feet instead of talking from the heart.

4. Rizzo says, “These bone fragments that are in my yard are an absolute mystery to me, as big a mystery as my wife’s disappearance. Uh…to me, ther…to me there’s no question, to me, I’m …..someone is trying to draw attention from themselves. Someone is doing this to me.”

   Could the person trying to draw attention “from themselves” be Rizzo? That is an odd statement. Why wouldn’t he say in anger, “I think someone is trying to frame me!” Is that hard for him to say because he knows its not the truth? It’s a little too close to home?

5. It sounds like a laugh slips out when Rizzo says “These bone fragments that are in my yard…”. If you don’t hear it, listen to him speak without watching the video. It becomes very clear. Also, watch how Rizzo has a lot of false starts. These are common when people are thinking as they speak, not talking genuinely about what they really feel. Its suggestive of deception–especially compounded with the fact what he says is inconsistent and not logical.
6. Rizzo continues, “Basically, uh, I just got very, very emotional about missing her…and…attempted to beat up the house, I guess you could say. Uh, the house won. I got the worst end of it.”

   Rizzo wants us to believe he didn’t worry about his wife missing because they were close, yet he got so emotional he beat up the house? This is nonsense if I ever heard it. It’s a completely inconsistent. If he was that emotional, he would have asked for help, if he was uninvolved, but he didn’t.

7. I wonder if the police asked Rizzo to substantiate his supposed injuries from beating up the house. Did Rizzo have any injuries that supported his story that he “beat” the walls or did they not question him in time?
8. The fact that officers saw Monika with bruises on her face before her disappearance is supportive of the fact that Rizzo was likely abusive of Monika, which does not bode well for Rizzo, either.
9. Rizzo talks like a drone when he says, “There was no domestic abuse, there was no domestic violence. My wife and I were deeply in love, we are deeply in love. We’ve been married…26 years going on 27 years and that’s a long time.”

   Yes, Rizzo changes his tense, which is a hot spot. Why does he flip-flop? Does he know that Monika was dead and that is why he did this?

10. I find the statement “that’s a long time” interesting when talking about the time he was married to Monika. When people lose loved ones, they usually idolize them more than ever and only focus on the positive. He seems to feel he was married “forever,” as if it was a big negative. It flags me.
11. Rizzo do not show any sympathy, compassion or concern for his wife at all. He doesn’t wonder or want to find out who might have killed her. Do you notice? It’s oddly missing, if he is innocent.
12. I love when Rizzo says, “I’ve never rented anything in a rental store……uh…(shaking his head no) other than a car dolly, maybe a trailer.” This is funny. He makes an affirmative statement and then realizes he might get caught so he back paddles. His head shake gives him away, too. Interesting, isn’t it? Rizzo also swallows awkwardly here, which is a sign he is very uncomfortable. Why would he be uncomfortable if he is being honest?
13. Rizzo says at the end, “I… did… not… kill…(big sigh — a sign of nervousness)…those people… whose bones are in my backyard (slight chuckle?) or anyone else. For that matter…..the…those bone fragments and such…where they came from, I don’t know. I don’t know where they came from and I did not kill them or anyone else.”

Sadly, I see nothing in this interview that makes me even remotely believe in Leonard Rizzo. I think Leonard Rizzo knows exactly what happened to these people.