TADP Season 2 Episode 8 – The disappearance of Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo

The armchair detective podcast

Richard Petrone Jr. and his friend, Danielle (Ottobre) Imbo, were last seen around 11:45 pm on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2005 leaving Abilene’s bar at 429 South Street in Philadelphia, where they met with some friends. They were heading for Richard’s 2001 black Dodge Dakota pickup truck, PA license plate # YFH-2319 parked in the neighborhood.

Richard, Danielle, or the truck haven’t been seen since and there have been no traces or clues as to their whereabouts.

They planned to spend the night at Danielle’s house in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The next day, Richard was to come back to his apartment on Snyder Avenue near 16th Street in South Philadelphia to watch the Daytona 500. No one knows if the couple ever made it to Danielle’s house Saturday night.

Richard was 35 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, 200 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes. He had an “Angela” tattoo on his left arm and clowns on his right arm. Richard was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, jeans, and sneakers. Danielle was 5 feet 5 inches tall, 117 pounds, with hazel eyes, fair skin and brown hair. She had a tattoo of flowers on her lower back. She was wearing a black jacket, cream-colored sweater and blue jeans.

Richard worked with his father at Viking Pastries, the family-owned bakery in Ardmore, PA. He had been working there since he graduated high school . He used to live in Ardmore but moved to South Philadelphia to be near Angela, his then 14 year-old daughter. Danielle on the other hand had a 1 1/2 year old son. Both Richard and Danielle knew each other since they were 15 years old.

Petrone and his girlfriend, Danielle Imbo, were last seen at Abilene’s (sometime’s spelled “Abeline’s” or “Abiline’s”), a bar and restaurant in the 400 block of South Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 19, 2005.

They had drinks with friends at the establishment before leaving between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m.; they stated they were going to Imbo’s home in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Neither of them have been heard from again. Their friends stated that both of them behaved normally and seemed happy that evening.

Petrone’s vehicle is also missing: it’s a black and silver four-door 2001 Dodge Dakota or Dodge Ram pickup truck with the Pennsylvania license plate number YFH2319 and possibly a NASCAR #99 sticker in the rear window. Photographs of the truck and license plate are posted with this case summary.

Neither Imbo nor Petrone have accessed their bank accounts or used their credit cards or EZ-Pass cards since they went missing. Their cellular phones have stayed turned off.

Petrone and Imbo have one child each; Imbo has a toddler son and Petrone has a teenage daughter. Their loved ones stated they would never have voluntarily abandoned their families, whom they were close to. The couple knew each other in high school and began dating ten months before their disappearances after they separated from their respective partners.

Both Petrone, then 35, and Imbo, then 34, were described as dedicated parents with nothing in their lifestyle that would suggest they could be targets of foul play.

Authorities have questioned associates of both people. Petrone and Imbo’s estranged husband had allegedly exchanged threats with one another over the telephone and Imbo had made multiple failed attempts to reconcile with her husband, who was involved with another woman.

Shortly before she disappeared, Imbo told her husband and Petrone that she wanted “space” from both of them; she was reportedly considering ending her relationship with Petrone altogether. Their loved ones believe foul play was involved in their cases, and both families have accused members of the other family of causing their disappearances.

Investigators stated that very little evidence is available to indicate what happened to Petrone and Imbo, but they have ruled out kidnapping and think a random act of violence is also unlikely. Their disappearances are being investigated as a double homicide, possibly a murder-for-hire.

Imbo lived on Dunbarton Road in Mount Laurel in southern New Jersey in 2005; Petrone lived in South Philadelphia. Both New Jersey and Pennsylvania authorities are investigating their disappearances, which remain unsolved.

Imbo was employed as a loan processor for a mortgage company at the time of her disappearance, working out of her home.

There is a $50,000 reward for information leading to them or information leading to an arrest of whoever is responsible for their disappearance.

The FBI says their disappearance was no accident, and not a crime of opportunity. They say Petrone and Imbo were the victims of a professional hit job at the hands of more than one person.

Christian Zajac of the FBI said the following “ This didn’t just happen. We feel this was an orchestrated act. A 3,000 pound truck and two people do not simply go missing”

The FBI has questioned Imbo’s estranged husband, Joe Imbo, many times. Just days before he vanished, Richard Petrone told his father he had angry words with Joe Imbo over the phone.

Richard Petrone Sr stated the following to Action News “He said “I got, like, 25 or 30 phone calls from this kid.’ I said, ‘What did he want?'”. “‘He kept telling me ‘stay away from her, leave her alone, he’s her husband.”

Joseph Imbo has never been named as a possible suspect, but he hasn’t been ruled out either.

Leads, according to investigators, have come in from all over America, but not one has panned out. Searches of land and water have been conducted over the years, but nothing has come of them.

Now i’d like to review some posts from online armchair detectives and their opinions on the disappearance of Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo.

Originaljerseygirl wrote the following on websleuths on March 7^th 2005:

“Even though there are different ways to get from Philly to S. Jersey, the only ones I can think of don’t pose that much of a danger, IMO. The entire highway area from Philly to S. Jersey is pretty developed & very heavily traveled so I’m not sure that that would be likely.

From the bar on South Street, they probably would have taken the Ben Franklin Bridge or maybe traveled I-95 North, connecting with the Betsy Ross Bridge. Actually, I don’t know that the Walt Whitman Bridge is all that far either and I’m not familiar with that route at all. But the first two bridges I mentioned don’t seem to pose much of a ‘driving off the road’ danger, and even if they did, I think someone would have spotted them by now.”

I found this interesting because it comes from someone who is familiar with the area. She also later stated the following:

“Do you think it could have been a carjacking? If they would’ve taken the Walt Whitman, wouldn’t that bring them to a really confusing bunch of roads? I can’t remember, it’s been so long. I worry that perhaps they got onto a road that hooked up with 5 other roads, and they took the wrong one, finding themselves in the middle of Camden. I’m not saying that people in Camden are all bad, not at all. But the crime rate, as you know, is very high. And it seems like there have been a lot of car-jackings lately.

Hmmm … there’s been a car-jacking story on the news over the past couple of days. I believe they said it was an older man driving his car. He was carjacked outside of an office building at Fellowship Road & forced to drive to an ATM. After that, they made him drive one of the highways here, (don’t remember which), and had him get off at a specific exit. They made him get out of the car, and then they shot him. I believe that the news said that he’s still in the hospital so this has to have been somewhat recent. So guess where all this happened? Here in Mt. Laurel. This is where Danielle also lives. Is it possible that they could even been car-jacked HERE in Mt. Laurel on their way to her house by these same guys? I hope Philly & Mt. Laurel police check it out. There are sketches of the suspects so hopefully they will catch them, and not find out that they harmed this couple as well. Since these events happened so close together, and one happened in Mt. Laurel, and the other is a woman who lives in Mt. Laurel, I wonder if there might be a connection?”

I also found this comment interesting, as I was not aware of this nor was it mentioned in the articles I read. A car jacking is possible since according to the Disappeared episode on ID there was a lot of car theft rings in the area at the time. They would steal the vehicles and use the vehicles for parts that they would then sell on the black market.

And Bobbiesangel said has the following theory:

I wonder if they could have given someone a ride…..someone that they ran into between the bar and his truck. I never pick up hitch hikers but some people do. If some guy asked if they could give him a ride they could have run into big trouble. It’s also pretty easy to steal a license plate from another truck…remove the origional plate and put the stolen one on and drive the truck to who knows where. A person can switch license plates in different citys and probably not get caught for quite some time.

I just find it strange that the truck hasn’t surfaced somewhere. My theory is probably way out there but anything is possible. Rich doesn’t sound like a violent person, the husband seems to have a air tight alibi and the couple haven’t shown up anywhere. It doesn’t sound like they would have just taken off.

I sure hope they are found soon. This has to be pure hell for the families.

I think this is a plausible theory. Any theory is plausible until law enforcement finds out what actually happened to them.

Wenchie said the following:

P.S. Ever since I’ve heard the entire story I’ve been certain that this wasn’t a random act. The only place they could have been carjacked was at South Street or on the way to the bridge – both crowded areas at that time on a Saturday night.

Once you get to the bridge it’s open highway.

If someone had been following them, there really aren’t any lonely stretches where they could have overtaken them.

Maybe someone called them on a cell and lured them somewhere?

I think this is an interesting post since it really zooms in on the areas where Richard and Danielle may have been carjacked, if that was what happened. After the bridge it’s basically highway, but I’m not sold on the fact that they even made it past the bridge…. I’ll explain a bit later.

Originaljerseygirl also said the following:

Weather Underground: History

About 29 degrees between 10:54 and 11:54 P.M. I don’t think there would have been many people on South Street in that temperature.

Now I’m assuming that’s 29 degrees Fahrenheit, so that means it was close to -2 Celsius that night, in other words below freezing temperatures. If that is the case, if, and I know this is disturbing to say but… If they were murdered and their bodies were disposed in the Delaware River, their bodies would not have floated to the surface right away. Below freezing temperatures means they would have froze and sank to the bottom of the river and have been moved by the current. Also one thing I found strange is that law enforcement and the fbi only checked the Delaware River but never checked the Schuylkill River in the opposite direction. Lets say for example that the event took place near the Abilene’s, it’s entirely possible that the people involved in their disappearance drove in the opposite direction to dispose of the bodies and the vehicle. Why would you hide the bodies in the same area where you know the victims were heading? I don’t understand why LE and the FBI haven’t checked the opposite direction and the Schuylkill River.

Now Wenchie also wrote the following:

I don’t believe that in the entire history of Philadelphia, there has ever been a case of someone accidently submerging their auto from one of the streets in that area. Beside the fact that none of the streets are that close – the water is so shallow that it just doesn’t seem possible.

I know the Pine Barrens pretty well, and have done a lot of exploring and canoeing there. Most of the rivers are very shallow.

What I’m trying to say is that if that truck is submerged, it would have had to be planned ahead of time just where that would occur, and it would have been intentional, IMO.

It’s also hard to imagine a carjacking in any of the areas from South Street to the bridge at 11:30 on a Saturday night without someone seeing or hearing something.

Is it true that her husband (or ex-husband) gave three different versions of where he was that night – and that he hasn’t shown much concern about her whereabouts?

I don’t want to cast asperions – I’d just like to know if this is true.

I find this interesting. Clearly this poster knows the area well, and knows that it would be nearly impossible for someone to drive their vehicles into the Delaware River because it is too shallow. The only way for a vehicle to be disposed of in the Delaware River would be if it was intentional and planning was involved. For example, you would need some type of way to get the vehicle deep enough for it to be completely submerged. Perhaps using a very large boat, or ferry service. I really don’t know, but clearly there are vehicles in the Delaware River. On the Disappeared episode, they discussed finding a vehicle of the same make and model and color as Richard’s vehicle, but it was later found that the license plate was not the same and the vin number didn’t match. Apparently it was someone trying to do some insurance fraud.

Mysteriew wrong the following:

Unfortunately there is a third scenario. As a result of ongoing problems in the relationship, this became a murder-suicide and the bodies haven’t been found yet.

To be honest this is a theory that I hadn’t even considered however I find it very unlikely. How can someone commit a murder-suicide then hide a 3000 lb truck? That to me just doesn’t make any sense. Also, Richard doesn’t strike me as the type of person capable of doing something like this and they had plans to return to Danielle’s apartment. Also when he left Abilene’s he seemed fine. If he was suicidal there would have been at least some signs that his friends would have picked up on. Of course, this is just my opinion.

Now user dmvpenn said the following:

Firstly, as a family member, I want to say that we have heard more iterations from pshyics then I care to explain. Personally, I have a dear friend who is a very gifted medium. He said that that they are BOTH DEAD. This notion that she is alive as created a lot of insanity that I wish would stop.

Secondly, Joe threathen Danielle and Rich up until the day they dissappeard. The day danielle dissppeared, Little Joe calld big Joe Rich. Joe went Bizzerk. As far as the alibi, a cover us is a cover up. And yes, we believe Joe found out Danielle was meeting Rich. And we also believe she was being followed by him or by someone else.

As for his background, he has connections to some very shady people and alike. Period end of discussions.

What I need is learn how to excert pressure on the febs to keep pressure. any thoughts.

This seems very interesting. It’s coming from a family member who clearly has inside knowledge of the case. He wants to put pressure on the feds but doesn’t know how. That must have been so frustrating.

Now dmvpenn also wrote the following:

You are correct that there is no physical evidence of any kind. I am so sure by now that the car is an ashtray. And the fact that no one is coming forward to claim a 100k reward is puzzling. Indication of a randam crime or that the underground world is not snitching on each other just yet? :waitasec: I have my suspicions!

I also have great concerns that the FBI and police are not further exploring the relationship between IMBO and Danielles best friend Dawn. She went out of here way to cover her ass for being with Danielle two consective nights prior to her dissappearance. Dawn also has gone out of her way to advocate for Joe. ( they have illminated all that public stuff from her website) because I pushed back hard my concerns about Joe and her.

Some thing very very strange about all this when you start to get closer to the daily lives of this folks. And I feel that without the physical evidence the authorities are not pushing hard enough on motive and the elements that surrond their daily lives. But what do I know, I am only a greiving family member.:banghead:

Clearly there was suspicion in the relationship between Danielle’s friend Dawn and Joe Imbo, the ex-husban of Danielle. To me personally, this just sounds like a very plausible scenario especially when I watched the Disappeared episode and they discussed the threats that Joe Imbo had made towards Richard Petrone. He makes threats a few days prior to Richard and Danielle’s disappearance, and law enforcement say he is not a person of interest, yet on the other hand they say that this was most likely a murder for hire scenario?….. This is confusing to me. If there is a murder for hire scenario, there has to be motive. The only motive in this entire case is that of a jealous ex-husban, at least that’s my opinion.

Dmvpenn also said the following:

Impbo was check out to the degree that he could be. He had an alibi with his 2 in-laws, one which is a detective. and imbo’s dad is an ex-detective. I am sorry to say this, but I do believe that there MUST be a level of corruption at work here and that the alibi’s are covering up for Imbo. Also, because the Philadelphia police were leading the case, without evidence, they really could not pull imbo back in for questioning. This is really an area of law that blows my mind: Proctectioins of persons of interest and suspects. If a prolifer were on this case, it would be self evident, given all of Imbo’s pre and post offensive behaviors, his long history of abuse towards Danielle that there is great potential that he is involced. There have been NO official statement by authorities stating he passed the lie detector test, rather they only refute IMBO’s claims he has and has not offered to submit to another.

As for Danielle, I’d be interested to understand what you mean by ” how frieghtened really was she off Joe?” I be interested in your elaborating on that. In so many of the domestic violence case studies that I read about, while women are extremely frieghtened, they tend to operate at some level in state of denial about the real potential of Murder or kidnapping. Check out the Book ” Next time she be dead”. We see women go on thier daily lives covering up their fear, protecting the fathers, thinking some how things will get better.

I know she feared Joe, but she also tried to contine to live her life and I don’t believe she ever thought he would hurt the son. She deserved a weekend off for God sakes, she worked her ass off and was a full time mom.

Just my opinion.

Dmv

Interesting that Joe Imbo had family members who worked as detectives. I have to agree with dmvpenn on this, if that is the case, then there definitely seems to be some type of cover-up on this case.

Now direwolf9 also had an interesting comment on reddit:

]direwolf9 9 points 10 months ago

The Hit Man theory is popular and the FBI used the possibility of a murder-for-hire to justify their involvement but there are serious problems with that theory.

Earlier that evening, Danielle was having dinner with a few friends including Richard’s mother, when Richard dropped by. He and Danielle, who were said to be “taking a breather” from their relationship (whatever that means) began talking and one thing led to another and they decided to go our together that night. They ended up meeting up on South Street with a couple who were old friends of Richard. Neither the couple or any of the friends Danielle had been eating with had any ties to Joe Imbio. How would a Hit Man have known where to find them?

When they left South St, they told their friends they were going back to Danielle’s condo in New Jersey. The obvious route would have been though the streets of downtown Philly then across the Ben Franklin Bridge but they were not seen on CCTV.(nor were they seen on any other bridge over the Delaware). City streets at that time of night tend to have moderate traffic and a significant police presence. That would not be the place to stage an abduction.

I notice on Google Earth that there are many cars parked at the waterfront area near the foot of South Street. I know nothing of the area but I wonder if someone could use that area to park at night, and if they could, would it be possible to accidentally drive off into the water while attempting to return to the roadway? It wouldn’t be the first time such a thing happened.

I would assume that there were effective guard rails to prevent a vehicle from going off the bridge but there must be plenty of less traveled roads in the area that would not have those types of barriers. If they decided to go somewhere else, particularly somewhere outside the city, there must have been many places near bodies of water a vehicle could have gone off without anyone knowing. I think this I’d the best explanation.

Bickingbackbeinbool on reddit said the following:

Murder for hire. Husband did it. Alibi was too perfect and he was close with police officers meaning he may have had the connections to pull this off.

Nothing else makes sense.

I’m guessing a hired person approached their vehicle, got inside, pulled out a gun, and drove them somewhere where he killed them and disposed of the truck and their bodies. Everyone keeps saying this isn’t likely because of how busy the area is but i think that would make it even easier. There was probably so many people around no one noticed, if that makes sense.

Alright, so now that I’ve mentioned some of the theories out there about this case, I will say my theory. Clearly the “going off the road into the Delaware River” theory has been debunked in my opinion by those living in the south philly area or who are familiar with that area. First of all, there are too many barriers that protects vehicles from going into the Delaware River and second, the Delaware River is too shallow for a vehicle to go too far into it. If the vehicle was in the Delaware River, it means that this was planned even more. There would have needed to be some sort of transportation in order to dump the vehicle into the deep parts of the Delaware River. In my opinion the Delaware angle is very unlikely.

The car hijacking angle is also weak in my opinion. First of all, the only reason to kill someone in a car hijacking is if they saw the person’s face. Assuming this was a professional car hijacking ring, they would make sure not to be seen and would simply take the vehicle and leave while the person was no where near the vehicle. Now is it possible that Richard and Dannielle happened to walk into a car hijacking in progress and then were killed? I highly doubt it. In my opinion, if that were the case, there would have been some type of evidence left behind and some bread crumbs leading to the people guilty of this crime.

Anyone with information that may assist investigators is urged to call the Philadelphia Citizens Crime Commission tip line at 215-546-TIPS (215-546-8477). Tipsters can remain anonymous.

~Acdetective~