Victim's Mother Arrested in the Murder of Manhattanville Student

Stacey Pagli, the mother of Marissa Pagli, the 18-year-old Manhattanville student who died on Monday, is in police custody and has been charged with murdering her daughter.

She was arrested in the White Plains Hospital at 11:48 Wednesday morning, confirmed Harrison Police Captain and acting Chief of Police Anthony Marraccini.  Stacey Pagli, 37, had been in the hospital since Monday afternoon.  Police believe that she attempted to commit suicide after killing her daughter.  There was a note found at the scene, Marraccini said.

She has been charged with second-degree murder, a felony. Police believe she strangled her daughter to death after an argument.  There were signs of a struggle in the apartment, said Marraccini, but he would not elaborate.

The strangulation took place at about 9 a.m. on Monday, according to police. They say they have an idea of a motive, but Marraccini would not share that information.  

Marissa Pagli was found in a bedroom of the apartment at 12:20 Monday afternoon.  She was pronounced dead at the scene.  Marraccini believes Stacey Pagli used her hands to strangle her daughter, but added that "there could have been another device in addition to that."

Stacey Pagli covered her face with her hair while being transferred from the Harrison Police Department to Harrison Court.  She did not reveal her face until District Judge Marc Lust requested that she remove her hair so that she could see him during the arraignment.  She quickly covered her face again while leaving the court room.

She has been placed on suicide watch and is being held without bail.  

A 911 call from campus security directed police to the apartment Monday afternoon.  Marissa Pagli's father, John Pagli, worked as a maintenance supervisor and had been with the college since 1996. It is not clear where he is right now.

"Emotionally devastating," is how Marraccini described John Pagli's situation.

Police offered few details after the slaying was discovered, but did say Marissa's death did not pose a larger threat to Manhattanville students.

Pagli, a 2009 graduate of Harrison High School and #4 on the college's volleyball team, had just turned 18 in August. She was well-known to the entire campus community, essentially growing up within the walls of the small liberal arts college.

John and Stacey Pagli also have a  3-year-old daughter, Gianna.  Police say that Gianna Pagli was not in the apartment at the time of Marissa Pagli's death.  

A wake will be held on Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Craft Memorial Funeral Home in Port Chester, according to a Facebook page created in her memory. A funeral service is set for 11 a.m. Friday at Saint Anthony of Padua Church in West Harrison.