Charges against murder suspect in deadly 2013 Hilltown home invasion have been dropped. Here’s why

Earlier this year, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced an arrest in a home invasion, murder and rape in Hilltown, a cold case that has baffled investigators for a decade.

Eight months later, the case is back on the cold case list.

After a three-hour hearing Monday, all charges against Thomas Delgado, the Philadelphia man accused of participating in the violent home invasion that killed 48-year-old businessman Joseph Canazaro, were dropped.

District Judge Regina Armitage dismissed all but two of 34 charges against Delgado, 50, including homicide, kidnapping and related offenses from the Jan. 18, 2013, crime, which was brought before a Bucks County grand jury, which recommended charges.

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In his ruling, Armitage said prosecutors had not presented enough evidence to prove that Delgado, who did odd jobs for Canazaro at his home, was physically present during the crime.

“We’re definitely missing some pieces here,” she said. “There are some serious pieces missing.”

The district judge held Delgado in custody on charges of receiving stolen property and conspiracy related to the theft of Canazaro’s black 2006 Lincoln Mark LT pickup truck, but prosecutor Christopher Rees immediately withdrew the remaining charges, effectively dismissing the case.

Delgado, who has maintained his innocence, was immediately released from the Bucks County Correctional Facility where he had been held without bail since his arrest in January.

His public defenders and family declined to comment after the hearing.

Authorities said two masked gunmen — an Asian man and a “possible” Hispanic man — broke into the Swartley Road home through a first-floor master bedroom window shortly after 6 a.m. on Jan. 18, 2013. The second suspect remains unknown.

The men held the family, including Canazaro’s 12-year-old son, hostage for four hours while they ransacked the home, stealing items including money, guns, casino chips and jewelry, police said.

Canazaro’s girlfriend claimed she was raped by a man she believed to be Hispanic while he was watching her and her son. The same suspect also allegedly held a knife to Canazaro’s son’s throat.

The suspects left the girlfriend and her son blindfolded and bound with plastic zip ties in the basement; the girlfriend broke free and fled with the son and the family dog ​​to a neighbor’s house, who called 911.

Police later found Canazaro dead in the garage, wearing only his underwear and his hands bound with plastic ties. An autopsy determined he died of multiple stab wounds. His missing 2006 Lincoln Mark LT pickup was found abandoned hours later at a Quakertown shopping center.

Surveillance video showed two men retrieving items from the back of the stolen pickup truck and loading them into the Nissan on the day of the murder. The two men then got into the Nissan and drove away.

Monday’s preliminary hearing began with a bombshell from the prosecution after Rees dropped two rape-related charges after preliminary DNA testing ruled out Delgado as the alleged rapist.

But prosecutors argued that DNA from a face mask found inside Canazaro’s stolen van was a “possible” match to Delgado, who has a history of violent criminal convictions, providing strong evidence linking him to the crime.

The mask and two pairs of gloves, which the girlfriend said were worn by the suspects, were found in the van in 2019.

Hilltown Detective Louis Bell, the prosecution’s only witness Monday, testified that cellphone records and data extracted from 10 cellphones belonging to Canazaro linked him to Delgado in 2011.

After being taken into custody, Delgado admitted to doing manual labor for Canazaro at his home, Bell said. He also told the detective he was in jail “when my boss died,” though Bell did not tell him who died.

Records also showed that Delgado was not incarcerated the day of the murder, Bell testified.

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Bell also testified that prosecutors are awaiting final confirmation that the DNA on the mask matches a sample taken from Delgado during his arrest.

Public defenders Caroline Crist and Brandon Ingraham argued that prosecutors presented no evidence to place their client inside the home during the crime.

They pointed to Bell’s testimony that DNA taken from a shirt found in the bedroom also did not match Delgado’s. Authorities believe the suspect wiped himself with the shirt after raping his girlfriend.

The exclusion of Delgado’s DNA as a rape suspect should have been enough to dismiss the entire case against him, the public defenders argued.

“The facts stated in the affidavit have been proven false,” Crist said. “We are confident that Mr. Delgado is innocent of all charges.”

After the hearing, Rees said he respected Armitage’s decision.

“We clearly believe the right person was arrested,” he added. “What the DNA on that mask proved to us is that this is the man who committed these crimes.”

Canazaro was a local businessman and co-owner of a popular Ambler tavern, but his other businesses had been sued dozens of times, often for nonpayment of debts, according to media reports.

In 2008, Canazaro filed for bankruptcy to get rid of less than $10 million in debt, including nearly $1 million owed to casinos in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Mississippi, authorities said. He also settled two federal lawsuits over bad checks.

You can contact reporter Jo Ciavaglia at [email protected]

This article was originally published on Bucks County Courier Times: Charges dropped against murder suspect in 2013 Hilltown home invasion