Dateline: Secrets of the Sliding Door - Who was Simeonette Mapes-Crupi and what happened to her? Disturbing details of a 2012 homicide, revealed

It all started with a panicked phone call, followed by a web of lies that ultimately ended in a shocking discovery. The Dateline episode titled Secrets of the Sliding Door will air on May 4, 2025, at 10/9 c on NBC, and it will follow the harrowing murder case of Simeonette Mapes-Crupi.

Simeonette was a 29-year-old resident of Staten Island, and she was found dead in her house on July 5, 2012. Her husband, Jonathan Crupi, was arrested for her murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison.

In the special episode, Correspondent Keith Morrison will interview Simeonette’s family members as well as the investigators of the case.

Who is Simeonette Mapes-Crupi?

Simeonette, 29, was a high school teacher in Brooklyn while her husband, Jonathan, also worked with her at the School for Classics. They lived in the New Springville neighborhood of Staten Island.

As per The New York Times, Simeonette was hired by the city in 2006 to teach social studies. She had worked in several other schools in Brooklyn as well. Jonathan worked as an English teacher.

What happened to Simeonette?

On July 5, 2012, Jonathan called 911 to share that he had found his wife dead in the house. He also claimed he thought that the house had been robbed. On the recorded call, he said:

“I just came home, my wife is dead…Oh my God. I think my house was robbed.”

The police found Simeonette brutally murdered. She had been pushed down a flight of stairs and had been stabbed 15 times. The house appeared ravaged. A sliding glass door in the house was ajar, but other than that, there was no sign of forced entry in the house.

As per CBS News, Deputy Commissioner of Police Paul Browne spoke to 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa about the murder scene. He described the murder, saying:

“Fifteen stab wounds, most of them to the back but a couple to the neck and punctures to the lung and to the heart.”

The authorities found it strange that while the house was ransacked and looked like the perfect robbery scene, credit cards and blank checks were left on the counter. An engagement ring was still in the bathroom. This dismissed the robbery theory, which Jonathan had hinted at in the 911 phone call.

Authorities suspect Jonathan

During the questioning, Jonathan shared his whereabouts on that particular day in detail. He said that after leaving home at 7.30 in the morning, he had his car checked, picked some supplies from school, and had gone shopping.

Michael Cosenza, a detective with the New York City Police Department's homicide squad, and Michael Burdick, then a detective with the NYPD, investigated the alibi that Jonathan had provided. While he did get his car checked and go to school, Jonathan did not go to the Home Depot as he had said.

The DNA test on the sliding glass door came back to Jonathan and a female, who was not Simeonette.

Investigations unveil shocking truth

The authorities started finding loopholes in Jonathan’s story. They learnt that it was on the insistence of Simeonette that the school had hired Jonathan in the first place. They also came to know that though Jonathan had gone to school on the day of the murder, the reason behind it was a concoction.

Upon investigating the school-issued laptops of Jonathan and Simeonette, the police found that Jonathan was searching to resell his sneakers, and she had been looking for marriage counselors. She also searched for a phone number that Jonathan had saved as ‘woman’ on his cell phone.

The number belonged to one ‘Miss Pumpkin’, who told the authorities that she knew Jonathan as Mike. She also shared that he had been meeting with her for s*xual encounters for two years, adding that Jonathan had arranged a meeting on July 5.

It was the time he told the police he was at Home Depot. The DNA of 'Miss Pumpkin' matched the evidence from the sliding door. The police suspected that Simeonette knew of her husband’s affair.

In the house, the authorities found a cellphone he had used to call 'Miss Pumpkin'. The investigators also checked if she was in any way involved in the murder. The autopsy result revealed that Simeonette was murdered in the early hours, during which time 'Miss Pumpkin' was not at the scene.

It was concluded that the evidence was ‘touch DNA’, as Jonathan had touched her and used the door handle afterward.

Jonathan’s search history on the computer revealed that several months before, he had looked-up on the ways to commit a murder and clean up the crime scene.

Jonathan is sentenced

After the investigators had enough evidence, they arrested Jonathan in November 2012. Upon discovering the truth, Simeonette’s family was shocked. As per Oxygen, her mother, Theresa Mape,s said:

“We found out there was a strip joint right next door to school. That’s where Jonathan spent most of his day. We found out that Jonathan had visited a h**ker right after he murdered my daughter.”

During the trial in 2015, the prosecutors stated that Jonathan killed Simeonette and tried to pass it off as robbery, post which he went to meet the pr*stitute for s*x and returned home to call 911.

As per the New York Daily News, Acting Richmond County District Attorney Daniel Master Jr. said in a statement:

“This was a case built on strong and compelling circumstantial evidence that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Jonathan Crupi was the sole person responsible for stabbing Simeonette Mapes 15 times and leaving her to die in the foyer of their home. I hope that Sissy’s parents, family members, friends, colleagues and students can take comfort in knowing that justice has been served.”

Jonathan was charged with second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He has maintained that he is innocent.

Watch Dateline on NBC

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