What happened to Joey Comunale? Subject of Netflix's Homicide: New York

Dick Wolf's Homicide is returning for a second season in New York – offering audiences an insight into some of the most notorious crimes in the city.

In each episode, an elite team of NYPD detectives relive the homicide investigations that defined their careers, and season 2 opens with the murder of Joey Comunale.

In 2016, Joey Comunale was reported missing by his father. Investigators went to the apartment where he was last seen, where they found evidence of foul play.

But what exactly happened to Joey Comunale? Read on for the full story.

Who was Joey Comunale?

Joey Comunale was a 26-year-old Hofstra University graduate from Stamford, who had travelled to New York City for a night out.

What happened to Joey Comunale?

Joey Comunale was partying at a nightclub in New York City, before heading to an after party with James Rackover, his friend Lawrence Dilione and three girls they had met earlier that night.

Surveillance footage showed Comunale entering an apartment building in the Upper East Side before leaving with Dilione and the three women.

A short while later, he was seen re-entering the building with Dilione. After that point, he wasn't seen again.

While at the apartment, Joey was stabbed and killed. A medical examiner determined that the cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the torso.

His body was then stuffed into a car boot. He was found in a shallow grave in New Jersey after being burned.

When questioned by the police, James Rackover said he had hosted a party at his apartment, which Dilione, a number of women, and a man he didn't know attended. He said that he didn't know what happened to the man who came to the party.

Detectives then questioned Dilione, who told them (via ABC): "I know James. He lives in Apt. ___ of 418 East 59th Street. I went with Joey to a party that James threw in his apartment ___ on November 13, 2016. We took Joey's body to Oceanport, New Jersey and we buried it in a vacant lot."

Dilione then showed investigators where the body was buried. Later that day, a cadaver dog made a positive alert for the presence of a human body or bodily fluids in the area of the trunk of Rackover's Mercedes.

Where is Lawrence Dilione now?

In January 2019, Dilione pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is currently serving time.

He is reportedly incarcerated at Clinton correctional facility in Dannemora, New York.

Where is James Rackover now?

James Rackover is currently serving time in prison, after being sentenced to 28 and 2/3 years to life for the murder of Comunale.

"This is precisely the rare kind of case that maximum consecutive sentences are reserved for, and no other lesser sentence would make much sense," Justice James Burke said when handing the sentence (via New York Post).

Homicide: New York seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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