Philadelphia

Daughter of Man Found Dead in Schuylkill River Speaks Out

For the first time in eight years, Vito Maglio’s family watched him dance in his son’s wedding video. It’s a humorous moment in Vito’s life captured on film that’s helping his loved ones cope with tragedy.

“Knowing that we’re never gonna have him here again to see him, it’s almost like, I’m grateful that we do have this so we can look at it,” said Vito’s daughter Lucia Maglio.

Vito was found dead Friday in the Schuylkill River after disappearing last year.

The 69-year-old Philadelphia man was last seen leaving Macaroni’s Restaurant Lounge on Old Bustleton Avenue around 6 p.m. back on Dec. 14. Only two days later, police found his 2008 GMC Yukon on the 5800 block of North Beechwood Street.

Investigators said the vehicle had been on fire but the flames were extinguished. Police also say a pool of blood was under the driver's seat and a shell casing inside.

“How did the car get up there?” Lucia asked. “What happened? That’s when we really started getting upset because then it was like, ‘Here’s the car, but where is he?’”

On Friday, Maglio’s nude body was spotted by a passer-by floating in the Schuylkill River near the U.S. 1 highway overpass in East Falls around 4 p.m. Police say Maglio died from multiple gunshots to the head and his death was ruled a homicide.

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Lucia told NBC10 her father didn’t have any enemies that she knew of.

“He was a very well-liked person,” she said. “Everybody knew him. But he was also a generous person and he liked to help people in any way that he could.”

For Lucia, who is set to get married in a few months, watching her father dance in her brother’s wedding video is truly bittersweet.

“It’s hard for me because in six months I’m gonna be doing the same thing and he’s not gonna be here with me,” she said while in tears. “It’s tough but it is those memories that we are gonna hold onto.”

No arrests have been made and police have not released information on any suspects. As the investigation continues, Lucia has a message for the person or people responsible for her father’s death.

“God will have to take care of you when your time comes,” she said. “Everything is full circle and karma will have her way.”

If you have any information on Maglio's death, please call Philadelphia Police.
 

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