Liberty Man Charged
In Murder of Blind Woman

By Dan Hust
LIBERTY — March 28, 2000 -- Village of Liberty Police, State Police and the Sullivan County District Attorney’s office are jointly investigating the murder of a woman in Liberty last week.
On Thursday, neighbors reportedly found the body of Theresa Gugliano, 77, outside her home at 428 North Main Street in Liberty.
Later that day, police arrested 22-year-old Hugh Fearon and charged him with second-degree murder, a felony.
According to the State Police, Fearon was a resident of the same building in which Gugliano resided – reportedly a residence for those with physical and mental disabilities and owned by Frank Cuttita.
Gugliano, who was legally blind, had lived there for nearly 25 years, said police, while Fearon, a native of Jamaica, was apparently brought up by his mother from Queens to live in Liberty just six weeks ago.
Authorities allege that Fearon and Gugliano had an argument Wednesday night which continued into early Thursday morning, at which point Fearon allegedly clubbed Gugliano with a blunt object, perhaps a brick. Police said an autopsy confirmed that Gugliano had suffered blunt trauma to the head – although District Attorney Steve Lungen said yesterday that the autopsy also uncovered multiple stab wounds, which may have been what actually killed her.
Fearon was arraigned last week in Liberty Village Court and sent to Sullivan County Jail without bail. A grand jury is expected to review the case this week, while Fearon is awaiting another Liberty court appearance on April 4.