The authorities were unaware of any connection between the crimes when James Polites and Joseph Fiammetta were discovered dead in their New York State residences in August 1994. However, a swift and thorough investigation quickly established that the double homicide was the work of a gang of robbers headed by Ivie DeMolina. The Lesson is Murder on Hulu walks viewers through Ivie’s crime and even the inquiry that led to her conviction. Let’s investigate the incident’s specifics and learn where Ivie DeMolina is right now, shall we?
Who Is Ivie DeMolina?
Ivie DeMolina was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and is of Puerto Rican ancestry. According to sources, Ivie was on the verge of opening her own boutique and launching a clothing line when she first realised how much she loved fashion design. She also worked as a stockbroker for a Wall Street company and was an ambitious singer who wanted to establish a name for herself in the music world. Ivie’s involvement with a gang of thieves, however, significantly altered her life, and her involvement in a double homicide destroyed her prospects of having a better life.
Ivie first worked as a sex worker, but in 1994 she and her companions Jamie Farthing and Thomas Christopher James came up with a scheme to commit a string of robberies that would allow them to live a wealthy lifestyle. The group determined that Thomas would assist in rendering their prey unconscious while Ivie and Jamie would use seduction to gain entry to their target’s residence. Then they would cleanly pillage the house before leaving.
A guy named Robert Hippman, who had previously been one of Ivie’s clients, was the target of the group on August 3, 1994. Unfortunately, Robert fell for the trap, and the trio easily made off with his money. Ivie arranged a meeting with James Polites, a New Jersey resident who had experienced the same type of robbery, the very next day. But, according to accounts, James was later discovered dead in his own residence by the police. Ivie and her cohorts, meanwhile, relocated to Long Island where they went for Joseph Fiammetta. Unexpectedly, even Joseph was found dead from a stabbing, which sparked a thorough police inquiry.
Clearly, the initial inquiry was quite difficult because there were no witnesses or leads for law enforcement to pursue. Yet they quickly discovered proof that the two homicides might have been related. Detectives were able to put the puzzle together and determine that Ivie and her pals were accountable for the crimes thanks to the evidence from the crime scene and Robert Hippman’s police report. In addition, Robert had given police a precise account of the robbers, which ultimately resulted in Ivie’s capture.
Where Is Ivie DeMolina Now?
Ivie asserted her innocence and pleaded not guilty when she was brought before the judge. She was found guilty of first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, and second-degree assault as well as the second-degree murder of Joseph Fiammetta by a jury that disagreed with her version of events. As a result, the judge in 1994 gave her a 25-year to life sentence. She was later presented in a New Jersey court and given a 30-to-life sentence for the murder of the James Polites. The court also decided that she would have to serve the sentences in order.
Readers would be shocked to learn that Ivie’s time in prison had thus far been fairly memorable. She described how hopeless and depressed she had been in the early stages of her prison term. In reality, according to insiders, Ivie attempted suicide twice, but both times she was unsuccessful. She compelled herself to continue after that day, but approximately 26 years into her sentence, things began to go well when she connected with a Canadian guy named Stefan through an internet pen buddy service for convicts. Although they were introduced by a mutual friend, Ivie was smitten by the man’s charisma, knowledge, and wit.
Ivie added that throughout the first several months of their contact, he advised her to seek mental health treatment, and as a result, Ivie received an opportunity to work as a peer supporter in the prison’s pilot suicide prevention programme. Before agreeing to get married, Stefan and Ivie corresponded for eleven months. Also, the pair received formal permission from the authorities to spend their honeymoon at a trailer on the grounds of Bedford Hills jail roughly six months into their marriage.
In her book “25 to Love: A Real Pen-Pal Fairytale,” which was released in March 2017, Ivie went on to describe her experience of finding love. In addition, one of her writings was featured in Harper’s Baazar magazine in 2021. Although she has been eligible for parole since 2021, Ivie is still incarcerated at the Bedford Hills Correctional Prison for Women in Bedford, New York, and her next hearing isn’t until April 2023. The fact that she is still married to Stefan will also please readers. The couple strives to get together every six weeks in the prison trailer, where they are permitted to spend four days together.
