Mary Jo Speaks

Mary Jo says she remembers quite vividly the moments leading up to the life-changing shooting. It was the middle of the day, and Mary Jo was in her backyard painting benches while her kids were in school. The doorbell rang, and Mary Jo could see Amy—who she did not know—standing at the door.

"I put my brush down and I walked toward the door, but I was still wearing my gloves. I had a little jacket on because it was a little breezy in the backyard," Mary Jo says. "She said, 'Are you Mrs. Buttafuoco?' And I said, 'Yeah.'"

Mary Jo says Amy then said she needed to speak with her about her husband. Mary Jo figured that it had something to do with a car, since Joey was a popular auto mechanic in town. She then stepped outside onto the front stoop to speak with Amy. Mary Jo says Amy then told her, "'Your husband's having an affair with my little sister.' I kind of looked back and asked, 'How old are you, 12?' I couldn't believe it."

As Mary Jo continued asking questions of Amy, she says she felt Amy was obviously lying. Mary Jo decided to end their conversation after approximately three minutes.

"I wasn't frightened," Mary Jo says about turning away from Amy. "I didn't feel that I had fear that something was going to happen. I'm in my own house, it's broad daylight, cars are driving back and forth, she's smaller than me."

When Mary Jo turned around to head back inside, Amy shot her in the side of the head. Only Mary Jo had no idea that she'd been shot. "I thought she hit me with a baseball bat," she says. "My thought [before going unconscious] was, 'Where did she get the bat?'"