Murdered couple ‘about to become great-grandparents’

Guiseppe Massaro, 80, and his 77-year-old wife Caterina, were found dead in the bedroom of their home in Wolverhampton on Friday evening.

Detectives had not yesterday released any details about the “sustained and frenzied attack” other than to say that they believe a hammer and a knife were used.

Speaking at a press conference in Birmingham, the couple’s granddaughter, Lindsey Booth, 23, who found their bodies, said they were “beautiful, caring and loving grandparents”.

She said: “Our grandparents came to England in the 1960s to look for work and to create a better life for themselves.

“Since being in the country they did nothing but work hard in order to provide for their two daughters – our mothers – and, after becoming grandparents to seven grandchildren, this summer they were expected to become great grandparents to two twin girls, which is unfortunately no longer the case.”

Miss Booth also said the family, both in England and in Italy, could not “even begin to grasp the evil that took apart in their house and how frightened they would have been”.

Two of the couple’s other grandchildren, Richard Booth and Rosa Carella, were at the conference.

Mr Booth, 22, said: “My grandfather and grandmother were loved by so many people and the lives that they touched.

“They were often described as charismatic and a charming couple, which we all know that they were.”

Mrs Massaro was an “honest and genuine woman” who made the best lasagnes, pasta and pizzas, he said.

He added: “My grandfather was an honourable and down-to-earth man.

“When he went to the local pub he would be the first one in there with his wallet out, offering to buy people a round, and even if they did not want them he would still buy them a drink.

“The home that has brought so much warmth and comfort to us has suddenly been destroyed.

“They had hearts of gold and they were harmless to anyone.”

Detective Superintendent Keith Wilson said magistrates in Birmingham had granted the force extra time to question two suspects.

He would not confirm which of three arrested men – two from Wolverhampton, aged 32 and 21, and a 30-year-old from Birmingham – the warrant referred to.

He said details of a post-mortem examination were yet to be released but officers believed a knife and a hammer recovered at the scene had been used in the “sustained and ferocious attack”.