William Fenzau

On 7 June 2005, the body of William Fenzau was discovered in his Miami, Florida home. Having been stabbed dozens of times in the neck, chest, back, and arms, investigators initially theorized that more than one killer had been involved in the vicious attack. As detectives got to work trying to track down William's killer(s), producers and cameramen from A&E's "The First 48" followed closely…

Early on the morning of June 7th, 2005, a man named Anthony Valeri stopped by the home of his friend, William. The two had been friends for several months, and Anthony - a conman from New Jersey, who was currently on probation - had come to rely upon William for many things while living in Miami. Having grown rather close with one another, Anthony felt comfortable enough to walk around to the unlocked backdoor to let himself in.

Inside, he discovered a mess, with papers and shattered glass scattered all over the floor. Moments later, Anthony discovered the body of his friend, William, slumped against the front door of the home. William was nude, with blood pouring out from several stab wounds to his neck, chest, back, and arms.

Police were later called to the scene, but the actions of Anthony - and others involved in the victim's life - would be called into question by TV producers. You see, a camera crew was following around homicide detectives at the time they were called to the scene, and footage from this investigation would later air on the program "The First 48." It's believed that these vital hours - meant to symbolize the most important of any homicide investigation - would have an impact on the investigation for years to come.

This is the story of William Fenzau.

William Fenzau was the first of two children born to his parents, William and Sue. His parents would later divorce, but not before giving birth to a younger sister, named Lori, who grew up idolizing her caring big brother.

The family would live together for a time in New Jersey, but the divorce of William and Lori's parents would result in them moving around quite a bit throughout their lives. They relocated to Mississippi when William was 10 years old, and then again to Florida in 1983. There, in Sarasota County, William endured a lot of teasing for his sexuality.

Despite the bullying - which was intended to make William feel small and insecure - he ended up becoming a proud gay man in his later teenage years. He began lifting weights, getting himself into incredible shape. However, during his teen years, he had a hard time dealing with the constant harassment from his close-minded classmates.

After graduating from George Washington University in 1991 with a degree in psychology, William went on to work for a number of different organizations, such as Planned Parenthood, as well as an HIV clinic and a couple of group homes.

After living together in the DC area for approximately ten years, William and Brian decided to move to Tampa, Florida in 2000. There, William gave up his life of social work in order to pursue a new interest: massage therapy.

William and Brian would begin to create a life for themselves in Tampa, but William - the more outspoken of the two - quickly began to reach his limits in the confines of the city itself.

It was at this point that a major issue in William's life began to rear its ugly head in a pretty significant way.

William had been diagnosed with HIV at an early age, just a couple of years after coming out to his family. However, for years, he refused to let it impact his life, sticking to his lifelong addage of "just get up and deal with it" (as recounted in a 2007 article in the Miami Herald). He got himself into great shape, took all of the available medication to counteract the symptoms, and battled the constant fatigue by indulging in multiple pots of coffee each day.

However, years later, the fatigue was beginning to become overwhelming. Desperate to find a solution, William turned toward a seemingly-simple solution: methamphetamine.

Once in Miami, problems that had already existed between William and Brian were exacerbated. Their behaviors - which differed significantly - finally started to get the better of one another. These behaviors were only amplified by the usage of meth.

After separating from his longtime partner, William bought a home along Miami's 62nd Street, near the city's Upper Eastside. There, he began indulging in his favorite hobby - gardening - turning the yard around his new home into a small oasis over the next few years. Friends and loved ones recall that he wanted to turn the home into a spa and wellness center one day, but lacked the funding to do so.

Despite using methamphetamine to combat the fatigue brought on by longtime HIV, William was unable to resist the lure of the drug when it became an addiction, using it to not only combat the symptoms, but regularly in his day-to-day life for several months.

During this period, William ended up meeting a new friend: Anthony Valeri.

After using meth for some time, William now began dealing it throughout the area, becoming known as a prominent dealer among Miami's gay community.

At around the same time, William happened to strike up a relationship with a man named Kevin Goode, who seemed rather well-off from the outside looking in. However, William not only supplied Kevin with drugs to use, but drugs to sell for himself.

As recounted by Miami Herald reporter David Ovalle, the relationship between William and Kevin was not a healthy one, with William believing that Kevin was frequently cheating on him. This is something echoed by William's sister Lori, who knew that the relationship was not a good one, but no one was able to convince William otherwise.

Over the next few months, William would continue dealing meth, and his friendship with Anthony Valeri led to some significant connections; primarily, a large supplier of meth coming out of California, known only as "Mexican Ben." Anthony acted as the middleman between William and "Mexican Ben," handling their dealings back-and-forth.

Despite William's dream of getting in and out of the meth trade, in the hope of turning his home into a luxurious spa and wellness center, he slowly became overwhelmed with his own meth addiction... as his burgeoning drug enterprise continued to grow.

On the morning of Tuesday, June 7th, 2005, Anthony Valeri stopped by William's home, entering through an unlocked backdoor. Within a minute or so, he reportedly discovered the body of William Fenzau, slumped against the front door of the home, surrounded by a small pool of blood.

Investigators would later note that William had been stabbed more than 30 times in his neck, chest, back, left forearm, and right hand. The killer(s) had used at least three knives during the attack, all of which were kitchen knives still embedded in the body. As recounted by Miami New Times reporter Francisco Alvarado, one knife was stuck 4.5 inches into his neck (embedded into bone), another was 6.5 inches deep in his abdomen (with the handle broken off), and a third knife was embedded in his stomach.

Instead of calling police, Anthony - because he was on probation at the time - decided to call William's boyfriend, Kevin Goode, who sped over to the scene. Once there, Kevin reportedly pulled out one of the murder weapons from a wound in William's neck.

Despite some time having passed since the discovery of the body, neither Anthony nor Kevin decided to call police. Since he was on probation and was afraid to get involved, Anthony Valeri fled the scene, pretending as if he had never discovered the body. Kevin Goode, William's boyfriend, could have called police, but instead decided to contact William's mother, Susan Lake, who arrived at the home shortly thereafter with William's stepfather.

Police were not called to the crime scene until 3:00 PM, hours after the body had first been discovered. It was believed that Anthony and Kevin had emptied the house of drugs, taking the time to ransack William's methamphetamine before police arrived.

When police arrived at the scene, they were followed by cameras; not only from reporters in the area, shooting from afar. The investigation into William's death was being filmed for a television program in real-time: A&E's "The First 48," which would air during the show's third season in 2006.

William's sister Lori, who lived hundreds of miles away, found this out shortly after arriving in Florida the day after William's murder. When she learned about the film crew following around investigators - capturing the crime scene in all of its gory detail - she was horrified to find out that her brother's murder investigation was going to become the focus of a reality TV show... without her family's permission.

The episode of "The First 48" that covered William's case would end up focusing in on connections he had made in the months before his death, while actively involved in Miami's prosperous meth trade. However, the end of the show would seemingly implicate one person in particular... William's boyfriend, Kevin.

Investigators would learn over the course of their investigation that despite dating for several months, William Fenzau and Kevin Goode had broken up just days before William's murder. With their breakup, it was believed, William had cut Kevin off from his supply of meth, which Kevin had not only been using for himself, but had been dealing in the area.

Kevin was one of the first people at the crime scene, having reportedly been called to the scene by William's friend, Anthony Valeri.

When questioned by investigators, they would note that Kevin had a cut on his right index finger, which he claimed had come from garden shears. However, members of Miami-Dade's Medical Examiner's office concluded that the cut came from elsewhere, believing it to be too sharp and/or precise to be a simple gardening accident.

After blocking off the crime scene for approximately two weeks, authorities were able to recover a lot of DNA samples. At least two of these samples indicated Kevin's involvement in the crime, which were:

- Blood found on an interior bedroom door handle, which belonged to both William and Kevin

- Saliva from Kevin, which was found on a bloody Newport cigarette butt, discovered underneath a glass table near William's body

When questioned about these DNA samples, Kevin admitted to being inside the home, but claimed that he had only entered the home after William's death. He also admitted to stealing meth from William's bedroom, which he had done after removing the knife from William's neck; explaining away the samples of blood found on the bedroom door handle.

For this admission, he was charged with tampering of evidence on June 8th, 2005 - a day after the murder. Police searching his vehicle found the meth he had stolen from William's home.

Nearly two months later, on July 29th, police decided to charge Kevin with William's murder. Detective Leo Tapanes would note in the arrest report that William "was no longer going to provide [Goode] with free crystal methamphetamine," which provided a clear-cut motive for Kevin to have committed the crime.

However, defense attorneys pushed back on the allegations, refuting the belief that their client's relationship with the victim was enough to establish a motive for murder. They were successful in arguing that William's drug dealing had likely made him more than one enemy... and were also able to argue that police had not properly read Kevin Goode his Miranda rights before his arrest, making his admissions inadmissable.

Charges against Kevin Goode were dropped in September of 2005, and have never been picked up again.

Another person featured extensively in William's episode of "The First 48" was his friend Anthony Valeri, who if you recall, was the person who claimed to have discovered William's body on the morning of June 7th, 2005.

Anthony Valeri was an ex-convict on probation at the time of the murder, who - as Lori would later discover - was acting as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration at the same time. A conman was New Jersey, Anthony had quickly become friends with William while living in Miami, having moved to the area to rid himself of his controlling mother.

While Lori can't confirm this, she believes that Anthony Valeri and William's ex-boyfriend, Kevin Goode, had a connection prior to them both arriving in the region. The two worked together briefly at a Nordstrom in Miami - at around the same time they both met William - but might have known each other for longer than that, back to when Anthony lived in New Jersey and Kevin lived in New York.

In addition to being one of the first two people to arrive at the crime scene, Anthony also happened to owe William a significant debt related to their drug dealing ventures, approximately $20,000.

If you recall, Anthony often acted as the middleman between William and "Mexican Ben," the pseudonym given to a prominent meth supplier from California. However, on multiple occasions, Anthony siphoned drugs and money away from the shipments, telling William that "Mexican Ben" was running short on supply. It's possible that he was pulling the same trick on "Mexican Ben," telling him that William was shorting the payments.

It's believed by investigators that Anthony had recruited Kevin Goode - his friend and William's boyfriend - into this scheme with him.

Investigators have gone on the record to state that Anthony Valeri likely knows much more about this story than he has ever let on, remaining silent because the truth would implicate him in one way or another. Perhaps his scheme to defraud William of money and meth indirectly resulted in some kind of retribution - by the mysterious "Mexican Ben" or some other supplier - or perhaps, like Kevin, he had been similarly cut off by William. That's not even getting into the fact that he was acting as a DEA informant at the time of William's murder, which leads into all kinds of outlandish theories.

Regardless, police have iterated that they believe Anthony to be a strong suspect in this case, and believe that he knew more than he ever revealed to them.

In the weeks before his death, it's believed that William had made the decision to get out of the meth business, potentially telling his partners and associates that he was getting out. For this reason, it's believed that one or more of these individuals might have taken this as a slight... or a threat.

Michelle Berry was a former-stripper from Brazil, who had lived in Miami for most of her life and been dealing drugs along the east coast for some time. In the months before William's death, she had come into close contact with William, but the two were not believed to be particularly close.

Shortly after William's murder, a man named Javier Rosario came to police, letting them know that Michelle Berry had visited him on June 5th, just two days before William was murdered. He said that Michelle had mentioned "sticking" it to William for threatening to snitch on her and their drug-dealing enterprise, and - according to Dave Ovalle of the Miami Herald - Rosario reportedly made a stabbing motion when using the word "sticking."

This potential witness claimed that Michelle was professionally involved with a man named Vito Abbate, who was going to "do the job with her."

Vito Abbate would himself prove to be a good suspect for the crime. A former-doorman from gay clubs in the area, Vito had gotten involved in drug dealing, and was reportedly a formidable presence in Miami's underground drug world (as you just heard from Lori, he was someone who carried around a heavy reputation).

When questioned by police about her own involvement in the crime, Michelle Berry would point fingers at her associate Vito Abbate, believing that he had killed William over a significant debt Vito owed, approximately $18,000. Michelle also claimed to have seen cuts all over Vito's hands in the days after the murder.

When questioned, police would grill Vito about a large cut on his right ring finger. He claimed to have gotten the cut while helping a neighbor move a rug, and said he had been at home at the time of the murder.

Sadly, though, Vito would not remain a suspect for long. The former-doorman, who was in his mid-sixties at the time, wrote a suicide note and took his own life with pills, writing:

"I'm tired of the drama. I did not hurt anyone."

As recounted by Miami Herald report Dave Ovalle, a lawyer representing Vito claimed he was nervous about DNA results from the crime scene implicating him. However, no DNA from Vito was ever recovered from the scene, proving his fears to be unfounded... at least, not in the evidence.

It's unknown if Vito Abbate was involved in this crime in any way, but the likelihood of proving it in any way died with him in August of 2005. Likewise, while Michelle Berry is believed to have known more about William's death than she originally let on, she has not been linked to this case by any charges or convictions over the past 17 years.

Sadly, there has been little-to-no movement in William's case since 2005... at least, not officially. Police charged William's ex-boyfriend Kevin Goode with murder in 2005, but dropped the charges months later, citing a lack of evidence.

Lori Grande, William's sister, believes that this early activity only happened because of the cameras rolling for "The First 48." After the cameras turned off, however, it seems like any momentum investigators once had came to a jarring end.

In the years since, Lori has acted as one of the only people attempting to connect the dots between this story's vast cast of characters and their illicit connections to her murdered brother. She has struggled to keep at it, however, when faced with the many hurdles shared by other loved ones of murder victims... not only the difficulty in keeping her brother's story alive, but struggling to learn anything when both sides of the aisle - the criminals and the police - don't want to cooperate with her.

Lori has also struggled to reconcile how a show like "The First 48" was helpful to her brother's case in any meaningful way. While it did highlight the early hours of the police investigation, it likely encouraged investigators to act quickly and recklessly, causing many of the people with information to shy away, not wanting their own illicit activities to be shared with a national audience.

Sadly, William's murder remains unsolved to this day, but his sister Lori continues to work on the case whenever she can. While chatting with Lori, I was struck by her resilience, not only in investigating her brother's unsolved death - learning about the good, the bad, and the ugly - but how she continues to keep her brother's spirit alive in her actions.

As of this episode's recording, the story of William Fenzau remains unresolved.

Episode Information

Writing, research, hosting, and production by Micheal Whelan

Published on January 22nd, 2022

Special thanks to Lori Grande, William’s sister, who spoke with me throughout this episode. Without her, this episode would not have been possible, and she remains a vocal advocate for William’s story.

Music Credits

Original music created by Micheal Whelan through Amper Music

Theme music created and composed by Ailsa Traves

Sources and other reading

http://www.episodeworld.com/episode/152708/First_48/3x12/Pack_Of_Lies

https://www.newspapers.com/image/654019070/?terms=William%20Fenzau&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/655963510/?terms=William%20Fenzau&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/655960953/?terms=William%20Fenzau&match=1

https://www.newspapers.com/image/655963727/?terms=William%20Fenzau&match=1

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/rush-to-justice-6378137

https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/letters-from-the-issue-of-june-4-2009-6365297

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article9225473.html