Family speaks about murdered private investigator; bond set for victim’s wife

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Huntsville police continue to piece together what appears to be a murder mystery. A husband, father and business owner is dead. And his wife, a local nurse, is in jail charged with his murder.

The victim is private investigator Jim Cappello. On Monday, bond was set for his wife, Marjorie Nicole Cappello, at $100,000.

[READ MORE: Wife charged with murder after body found in south Huntsville home]

Cappello’s sister and father sat down and spoke to WAFF 48 News about his life and death.

“It doesn’t make any sense. You can’t make sense of it. There is no sense. It’s horrific. It’s disgusting,” said his sister, Jamie Weast.

She and Jim Cappello Sr, were driving to Huntsville from out of state to lead a search team to find him. Now they’re are planning his funeral.

Marjorie “Nikki” Cappello posted on Facebook that she had last spoken to her husband Thursday morning. She asked for help looking for him, Friday.

Cappello was found dead in their family home in south Huntsville on Saturday.

Weast spoke to him late Wednesday night.

“I called. He answered panicking, anxious. he couldn’t get his words together. But he did say, ‘Jamie, I know you are worried about me,'" said Weast. “On Thursday, I texted Nikki to see how he was and she said he woke up freezing and is doing well this morning.”

“I tried calling him twice and he didn’t answer," she said.

Weast never spoke to him again.

Weast is a nurse and she knew that her baby brother was suddenly and mysteriously, very ill and needed to get to the hospital.

“It was unusual, unexpected and his symptoms were extreme,” she said.

Both she and her father said Cappello had no medical conditions other than high cholesterol, so his death is an utter shock.

“No one wants to lose your children first, especially to something like this. Nothing else matters. The world has just come crashing down on you,” said Jim Cappello Sr.

Answers are few right now, but an autopsy will clear up how he died.

For now, they want to remember how he lived.

“He loved his job. He loved his cars. He loved Ryleigh."

Ryleigh is his 4-year-old daughter. Cappello's father and sister are working with medical professionals to find the right words. to tell her. They are also planning his memorial service for sometime this week in Huntsville. He will be buried at a later date in his hometown of Buffalo, New York.

Family members have also started a Facebook page entitled “Legacy of James Cappello." They are hoping friends, business associates and family will post messages and pictures to one day be printed and turned into a bound book for young Ryleigh.

Cappello owned and was an investigator with Cappello Investigative Agency (CIA). He worked with many attorneys in the 15 to 17 years he has lived in the area.

On, Monday, Bill Hall said that he has known Cappello for 13 years and he and his office staff are devastated. Cappello was in their office or they spoke by phone at least once a day.

WAFF 48 News has confirmed that “Nikki” Cappello was employed by Huntsville Hospital as a nurse from 2008 to 2017. Further questions asked of Huntsville Hospital surrounding the reason for her departure remain unanswered. We have been told by sources that she was currently working as a nurse somewhere in Athens.

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