EXCLUSIVE | ‘Beyond just coincidence’: 11 years after Bruce Cucchiara’s murder, ‘CounterClock’ podcast’s Delia D’Ambra unravels cold case
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA: On April 24, 2012, prominent New Orleans businessman, 57-year-old Bruce Cucchiara, was shot to death in the parking lot of the Mark VII apartment complex in New Orleans East, a location nobody knew he planned to visit. Reports suggested that Cucchiara was en-route to look at an investment property but was given an incorrect address. Shortly after Cucchiara’s death, authorities discovered his phone and wallet were stolen.
Meanwhile, an email notification requesting a password change hinted that somebody was trying to access Cucchiara’s Apple ID account. It was also revealed that a total of five insurance policies, amounting to $5M, were taken out in Cucchiara's name back in 2007. Nearly two days after the murder, a sketch of an alleged suspect was released to the public. However, the murderer continued to remain at large and the case remained unsolved amid a web of complexities leading up to Cucchiara’s mysterious and tragic death.
More than a decade later, investigative journalist Delia D’Ambra decided to try to solve Cucchiara’s murder by unraveling the case on Season 5 of audiochuck’s award-winning ‘Counterclock’ podcast, which debuted at the top spot in Apple Podcasts. For more than a year, D'Ambra worked towards untangling the complexities surrounding the case by speaking to Cucchiara’s family, friends and colleagues, revisiting the crime scene, uncovering strange evidence, discovering new information, connecting to law enforcement authorities and bringing the truth to light. In an exclusive conversation with MEAWW, D’Ambra opened up about her journey as she delved into Cucchiara’s murder and shared her biggest takeaways from the case.
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‘They had a lot of bravery’
Nearly 11 years after Cucchiara’s murder, his adult children, Chris and Caitlin Picou, have continued their fight to uncover the truth about his homicide. Speaking to MEAWW, D'Ambra said it was Chris and Caitlin's “determination” that inspired her to unravel the case in the new season of the ‘CounterClock’ podcast. “I think it was just the tenacity of his children,” D’Ambra shared, adding that she first connected to Chris and Caitlin virtually before their in-person meeting and interview.
“It was just their determination for really trying to get to the truth. I think they had a lot of bravery,” D'Ambra continued, adding, “Caitlin had done a good amount of gathering of documents and information but she had no idea what to do with the lot of it. She wasn’t really advised on how to do anything. She just knew that some of the stuff was important and for me that was really helpful. I said, ‘Okay, I can bring my skill set to this case and really help get to some answers.’ It was really the impression they [the children] made on me and the amount of work that they had already put in to figure out what happened to their dad."
‘Bruce Cucchiara’s cell phone was such a critical piece of evidence’
Speaking about the shocking revelations that D’Ambra came across while covering the case, the podcast host said Cucchiara’s cell phone was one of the “biggest” evidence she studied. “Bruce Cucchiara’s cell phone was such a critical piece of evidence that was missing along with his wallet,” D’Ambra stated. “That phone did surface after his murder in the possession of someone else who had no reason to have it and that was the biggest point for me in the investigation because you know there’s a lot of information that could have been gathered from that,” the former broadcast journalist added.
“And NOPD (New Orleans Police Department) had more than one shot at utilizing that evidence in their investigation but for some reason, it vanished,” D’Ambra shared, adding, “And so I think that’s a very intriguing aspect but it’s also something that I think is just very challenging for the case now, to not have that."
Did corruption play a role in Bruce Cucchiara’s murder?
In the first episode of the ‘CounterClock’ podcast, titled ‘Gut Punch,’ D’Ambra notes, “The story of Bruce Cucchiara is not JUST about murder… it’s about motive.” Perhaps the most important circumstance that led to people questioning if Cucchiara was "worth more dead than alive" was the multi-million dollar insurance policies taken in his name. Reports revealed that in 2007, three policies of $1M each were taken out with a business associate listed as a beneficiary. In addition, another $2M policy was also taken out in his name that year, bringing the total to $5M.
Asked if she believes corruption played a role in Cucchiara’s murder and his case remaining unsolved, D’Ambra said, “I certainly believe there is a high likelihood that corruption is involved in what led Bruce to the Mark VII apartments,” adding, “I think there is definitely some interconnectivity there with some possible nefarious characters but as far as why the case has been stagnant for 11 years is peculiar.”
D’Ambra continued, “I have questioned whether there were people actively trying to stall this investigation because of who could be at fault for it. And for me to see that with a case that’s not that old, yes, I certainly had to raise that question.” Meanwhile, she also clarified that she does not “at all” believe everyone associated with the case was “tainted.” “Am I 100% certain that anyone that touched this case could be tainted? No. I don’t believe that at all. I believe that there could be several nefarious characters that have influence at times but getting to the validity of that is certainly an ongoing process,” she said.
The role of law enforcement
When asked about the role of law enforcement in solving Cucchiara’s case, D’Ambra said, “I certainly think that law enforcement has worked this case. I think there have been members of law enforcement that have certainly pursued this case.” However, she also felt that “there was certainly a lack of enthusiasm early on” or perhaps a bigger need “for determining what really happened, instead of following a potential theory.”
However, D’Ambra said the current NOPD detective from the cold case unit, who is working on the case, is determined to find out the truth. “I have been in their evidence room, I have been in their department, I’ve sat with him and he really wants to find out the truth,” she said, adding, “They brought in some consultants from the FBI at one point back in 2021 and they have [also] worked with partnering agencies.” However, “the current investigators keep hitting walls because of the uncooperative nature of some of their key prospects in the case,” she opined.
“I think they have done a decent job,” D’Ambra said, adding, “Do I think they have done a stellar job? No. But now they are working against time and that’s a difficult thing. I definitely think there is more that can be done, I think there’s a long way to go on it but I think they have done it. I don’t discredit them for the work that they have done, at least, in the last few years."
‘An individual’s life that was far more complicated than the average person’
Speaking about her biggest takeaway from the investigation, D’Ambra told MEAWW, “I saw some things that didn’t make sense with the murder and murder scene and the further I looked it just ballooned out to a picture of an individual’s life that was far more complicated than the average person.”
D'Ambra continued, “I saw a pattern of things that a normal person (and when I say normal, I mean someone who is not doing what I am doing) would look and say, ‘Man, that’s a coincidence!’ ‘Oh wow! That’s odd.’ And I saw so many patterns of that in his life and in his friendships that it became too overwhelming.”
The discoveries led D’Ambra to think, “This is not typical. This is beyond just coincidence after coincidence after coincidence. I realized that there is a deeper issue here, something more than just a random, ‘Oh this happened.’”
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Bruce Cucchiara’s Christian faith ‘changed him for the better’
Audiochuck’s ‘CounterClock’ podcast described Cucchiara as a “father, businessman, coach” and a man well-loved in his community. During her conversation with MEAWW, D’Ambra noted how Cucchiara changed for the better on discovering Christianity. “The biggest thing that stood out to me with everyone that I talked to, whether it was in his family environment, his business ecosystem, his old friends and his new friends, was the very clear change in his life when he discovered his Christian faith,” she said. “No matter who I talked to that seem to be a marker in his life that changed a lot about him for the better,” she recalled.
‘His children are very very resilient’
Over a decade after Cucchiara’s murder, Chris and Caitlin are still fighting for justice. “His children are very very resilient. I think they have really kept a positive outlook. Yes, they have been discouraged and let down time and time again, feeling like they were getting somewhere and realizing that wasn’t the case. So they got discouraged in that aspect but they have a very hopeful outlook for moving forward and keeping the momentum of the case moving,” D’Ambra shared.
D'Ambra said that Season 5 of the ‘Counterclock’ podcast allowed a “vortex of conversation” about the case. She said, “People speaking with law enforcement again or people speaking to me or amongst one another have been a really good thing. I know that has really encouraged them [Chris and Caitlin]. Chris has told me time and time again that he is trying to take some of the lessons he learned from his father’s mistakes,” while discussing how Cucchiara’s children are coping with their father’s death, 11 years after the tragedy.
“Chris has really internalized a lot of that and figured out he can use those lessons to be a better dad and a person himself. I think for him it is a way of feeling like still connected to his dad and his dad’s legacy. I think they are doing the best they can,” D’Ambra said, mentioning that Caitlin, who recently spoke to her for a follow-up interview, said, “‘I will not stop until I feel like we’ve hit an absolute wall. I will keep going, I will keep talking, I will keep doing.’” The podcast host said, “She is very very determined.”
‘I absolutely think Bruce’s case can be solved’
While Cucchiara’s murder case currently remains unsolved, D’Ambra feels there is still hope. “I absolutely think Bruce’s case can be solved. My hope is that NOPD alongside their district attorney’s office would find legal ways to obtain deficits and interviews with individuals that they have not had face-to-face with,” she said, adding, “They need to be able to get material witnesses, essentially to Bruce’s day of his death, they need to pursue that a lot." She noted that if the case gets resolved it would “mean a lot to his family.”
The ‘CounterClock’ podcast
D’Ambra, who previously worked as a full-time general assignment and investigative reporter for NBC affiliates, began producing the ‘CounterClock’ podcast in her spare time. “With some experience under my belt in 2018, when long-form series podcast were coming out, I thought I can do something like that,” D’Ambra shared. “I have the skills of covering crime stories and investigating stories beyond just a 24 hour news cycle so I just thought let me try and do a podcast in my spare time,” she added.
Shortly after, D’Ambra connected with Ashley Flowers and came under the Audiochuck Network. For the first season of her podcast, D’Ambra covered the unsolved murder of Denise Johnson from her hometown in North Carolina. Not only did the podcast garner a mass internet following and large listenership, the case was also subsequently reopened by law enforcement authorities. “It has been a really cool journey of telling stories long-form and being able to give them the time that they need and interview a lot of characters and really try and make a difference,” D’Ambra shared.
‘It’s challenging work, but it’s definitely very fulfilling’
As a strong woman using her platform to expose and unearth crimes that many have given up on, D’Ambra believes, “people’s best and worst mistake is discounting you.” “Sometimes that really works to my advantage, those typical biases exist and I am able to pierce through them,” she said, adding, “I always tell young female journalists, ‘keep pressing, keep pushing, have integrity and be determined, find ways to adapt because there are gonna be times when you run into things where you are shut down simply because you are just discounted and they are not taking you seriously.’”
“Seeing other people emerging in this industry, irrespective of men and women, I just say, ‘Get in and do it,’” D'Ambra stated, adding, “I think the right people in the genre can do a lot of good and raise a lot of awareness and give voices to people, like in my case, to Bruce Cucchiara’s family. It’s like they had a voice but nobody was hearing it, nobody was aware of it or listening to it." However, D’Ambra finally managed to give Cucchiara's family the voice they needed and said that the experience was “fulfilling.” “It’s fulfilling work, it’s difficult work, it’s challenging work, but it’s definitely very fulfilling,” she concluded.