Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Name | Basso, Suzanne Margaret | |
TDCJ Number | 999329 | |
Date of Birth | 05/15/1954 | |
Date Received | 10/28/1999 | |
Age (when Received) | 45 | |
Education Level (Highest Grade Completed) | 12 | |
Date of Offense | 08/25/1998 | |
Age (at the time of Offense) | 44 | |
County | Harris | |
Race | White | |
Gender | Female | |
Hair Color | Grey | |
Height | 5' 2" | |
Weight | 141 | |
Eye Color | Blue | |
Native County | Albany | |
Native State | New York |
Prior Occupation
office clerk, seamstress, laborer
Prior Prison Record
None
Summary of Incident
On 08/26/1998, Basso and co-defendants kidnapped a 59-year old retarded white male and intentionally caused his death by beating him with belts, baseball bats, steel-toed boots, hands, and feet. Basso was the leader of the group and encouraged all the co-defendants to abuse the victim. The murder was committed for proceeds from an insurance policy on the victim (in which Basso was named the beneficiary) as well as other assets in which Basso was named heir. Basso had wooed the victim into leaving his family and friends in New Jersey and moving to Texas, under the guise that she would marry him. The victim was found in a ditch with injuries so horrendous that the body was unrecognizable.
Co-Defendants
O'Malley, James
Ahrens, Greg
Ahrens, Bernice
Ahrens, Hope
Singleton, Terrance
Race and Gender of Victim
White male