More shocking details are emerging about the girlfriend accused of helping her boyfriend murder and burn the body of his estranged wife — days after the victim filed for divorce.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Michael Cammarata and his girlfriend Ayisha Egea are facing multiple charges related to the presumed murder of Jeanine Cammarata, Michael’s estranged wife and mother of their two children. The 37-year-old public school teacher in Staten Island also had a third child from a previous relationship.
Authorities have not yet released Cammarata’s cause of death, but identified her as the burned body found in a Staten Island storage facility Thursday morning, five days after Cammarata was seen alive. Two days before she was last seen, Cammarata filed for divorce from her estranged husband, and on Monday missed a court date for a custody hearing regarding their children.
Both suspects were reportedly seen on surveillance camera footage transporting a large plastic bag from Michael Cammarata’s home in Rockaway Beach, Queens, to the storage facility, where they allegedly stashed the body along with air fresheners, presumably to conceal the odor of the burned remains.
As reported by the New York Post, Egea’s lawyer revealed in court this week that she is six months pregnant. This weekend, the victim’s friend and landlord revealed shocking details to the New York Post about Egea’s history with the family.
This is Ayisha Egea, who's charged in the murder of Jeanine Cammarata, a Staten Island mother of three. Egea is dating Jeanine's estranged husband Michael, who's also charged in the murder https://t.co/JvAmfc1j2A pic.twitter.com/vWs7d7uwFY
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) April 5, 2019
Jeanine Cammarata’s landlord Jose Perez, who was also a close friend, told the New York Post that the Elgea used to work as a babysitter for her children when the Cammarata family still lived together in Staten Island — before Elgea tore the family apart, the friend said.
Perez told the newspaper that Elgea started working as a babysitter for the family in 2017, and soon began having an affair with Michael Cammarata — and the illicit pair reportedly didn’t work very hard to hide it.
“Mike was having an affair while they were still together. [Jeanine] just realized it after it started escalating … I’m pretty sure she did [catch them]. They certainly weren’t hiding it.”
Ultimately Jeanine moved out of the home into one of Perez’s apartments, he said, but her name remained on the lease of the Staten Island home where Elgea and Jeanine’s husband continued to live — but refused to pay rent, damaging Jeanine’s credit.
“Jeanine paid [Egea] really well to steal her family,” Perez told the New York Post.
Michael Cammarata and Ayisha Egea are charged with second-degree murder, concealing a human corpse, and tampering with evidence. Both suspects are reportedly being held without bond.
[Feature image: Jeanine Cammarata/Courtesy Jessica Pobega]
