Dog, rabbit die in Lutz house fire

LUTZ -- A family of five lost a dog and pet rabbit when their home caught fire Saturday afternoon, according to Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.

The fire at 2009 Wallace Road also destroyed family keepsakes, clothing and important paperwork, said Abi Weaver of the American Red Cross Tampa Bay chapter, which is providing aid to the family.

Fire Rescue arrived at the home just after 2 p.m. The home was nearly engulfed in flames and firefighters tried to subdue the fire with water from tankers because there were no hydrants nearby.

No one was in the house at the time of the fire, but the couple who owns the house, and their sons, ages 22 and 7, and daughter age 10 arrived as firefighters were dealing with the blaze, Weaver said.

Among the items lost was the oldest son's master's thesis, which burned with the family computer.

The family will stay with relatives, but the Red cross provided them with emergency money for clothing, food and medicines, Weaver said.

"Fortunately this family owns their home and are insured," Weaver said. "So we are just helping in the immediate time until they can get that process going."

The cause is still under investigation, said Capt. Bruce Delk of Hillsborough County Fire rescue.

--Robbyn Mitchell, Times staff writer

Suspicious death is murder, detectives say

[Police investigate a suspicious death at the corner of Manatee and Bayview in Bellair. Atoyia Deans, Times]

BELLEAIR -- BELLEAIR — A Belleair man is suspected of killing his wife and traveling across the country to elude arrest.

Sheriff’s detectives say Ryan Cataneo, 40, murdered his wife, 39-year-old Deana Cataneo. Her body was found in a pricey home at 7 Baybrook Place on Friday after relatives visiting for Thanksgiving couldn’t reach the couple.

By that time, her husband was across the country, detectives say. He was last seen on Tuesday in Marrero, Louisiana.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said late Saturday that the medical examiner determined the cause of death was homicidal violence.

The sheriff’s office obtained an arrest warrant on a first-degree murder charge for Ryan Michael Cataneo.

Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Bordner wouldn’t detail the evidence against the husband because he said it could interfere with the integrity of the criminal case.

It was the most information yet released in a mystery that began on Friday morning, when Deana Cataneo’s relatives came looking for Bob Green.

Green, 66, mowed the lawn and trimmed the hedges on the orange speckled grounds for the couple’s landlord. He knew the Cataneos as kind, jovial people.

About 11 a.m., Cataneo’s parents arrived at his house. Her father and stepmother were visiting from out of state. They planned to eat a late meal together on Thanksgiving but weren’t able to reach the couple.

Green allowed them inside the back door with his key to the house. The home was unusually cool.
The step-mother called the Deana’s name twice and stepped into the bedroom.
Then she started to scream. The father yelled for Green to dial 911. Deana Cataneo’s body was lifeless on the bed with a sheet covering it.

The body was pale and ashen. There was no odor in the room, Green said.
Records show the couple were married in Key West in March. Deana Cataneo owned a business called Coast to Coast Installers and listed its address as that of the home.

Ryan Cataneo has no criminal history in Florida, where he has lived for years. But a 1987 article in the Los Angeles Times and court records suggest Cataneo faced serious charges when he was 19 years old. He was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl with two other teens. It was unclear late Saturday how those charges were resolved.

Kerry Aurit, Deana Cataneo’s brother-in-law, said the couple met in high school. They both ran the business, which installs rubber floors for playgrounds, Aurit said.

He said the family has known her since she was a teenager. He learned that she was dead after two deputies knocked on the door of his California home wanting to know if he had heard from his brother.

 

"There’s no way. There’s just no way," Aurit said. "If you know my brother, he’s soft. He’s a very soft person. This doesn’t make sense at all."

--Stephanie Garry and Austin Bogues,Times Staff Writers

One dead, three badly injured in high-speed crash

BEALSVILLE -- A Riverview man died and three companions were severely injured early this morning after their car went into a spin at nearly 100 miles an hour on State Road 60, hit a street sign and chain link fence, then rolled over and over, throwing everyone out as it tumbled.

The Florida Highway Patrol says Christopher Ramos, 33, of Riverview had been behind the wheel of the decade-old Dodge Stratus, and died at he scene. The injured were identified as Estanislao Vela, 36, and David Vela, 32, both of Plant City, and David Alan Jones, 21, of Lithia.   

The wreck occurred around 2:30 a.m. just west of the Polk-Hillsborough county line. The car had just crossed English Creek and was heading west toward a curve. FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said none of the occupants were wearing seat belts, and all the passengers were intoxicated.

FHP investigators estimate Ramos had been traveling about 97 miles per hour. He was so severely injured that it took several hours to positively identify him, they said.

-- Times Staff

Man shot, killed in Tampa apartment parking lot

TAMPA -- A 22-year-old man was killed outside a Tampa apartment complex last night.

At about 10:30 p.m. Friday, Tewana Sanders heard a single gunshot from outside her apartment, at the Royal Parc Apartments, near the corner of 56th Street and Sligh Avenue.

She ran to tell Raquel Potter, who called 911 and ran outside, where Christopher Ryan "C.J." James was laying on the parking lot asphalt, gasping for air. He had been shot in the back of his head, Sanders said.

"I kept saying 'C.J., keep breathing, baby, keep breathing,'" Potter, 21, said.

Neighbors Alicia Martin and Janice Mitchell ran to get James' girlfriend, who lives in a nearby unit with James and their son, who's 2 months old, neighbors said.

Neighbors said it didn't appear anything was stolen, but his front pockets were pulled out as if someone had searched, Potter said. They said they didn't see anyone fleeing the scene, and Sheriff's Office spokesman J.D. Callaway says they don't have a description of a suspect.

James was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he died at about 11:30 p.m., the Sheriff's Office reported.

Neighbors stood outside Saturday morning, remembering the young man who they said was always smiling.

"He was just a cheerful, nice person," Potter said.

He was in the U.S. Coast Guard, and he was on leave for his son's birth, Mitchell, 24, said.

"He was getting ready to go back," Mitchell said.

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information to call them at (813) 247-8200.

-- Jessica Vander Velde, Times staff writer