Diane Delia's murder: 3 shocking details to know

Diane Delia's body, with four gunshot wounds to the head, was found in the Hudson River wrapped in a yellow blanket in late 1981. The only two suspects in the killing were her husband Robert Ferrara and her lover Robyn Arnold, given the complex love triangle situation she was embroiled in at the time.

Diane was a renowned transs*xual model and had known both suspects even before she underwent s*x reassignment surgery. Soon, a tipster would tell authorities about the roles both Robert and Robyn played in the murder. A letter written by the former revealed that they each shot her twice.

Robert was eventually found guilty in 1982 while Robyn was acquitted of all charges. He has since been released from prison on parole.

Diane Delia's murder case is set to feature on ID's Murder in the Big Apple this Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10 pm ET. The synopsis for the upcoming all-new episode titled Friends, Lovers, Killers reads:

"The murder of transgender woman Diane Delia uncovers a volatile marriage, a confusing love triangle and an illicit affair; the detectives lack the evidence to make an arrest until someone comes forward with a shocking story."

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Diane Delia's murder: A complicated love triangle and 2 other shocking details

1) Diane was embroiled in a complicated love triangle at the time of her murder

Diane Delia, born John Delia, first met Robert Ferrara, who worked as a bartender at The Playroom, a gay bar. She then met nurse Robyn Arnold when the former still identified as John before undergoing s*x reassignment surgery in Colorado in November 1980.

Back then she was dating Robyn, but their tumultuous relationship ended and she married Ferrara with whom she once shared a gay relationship.

The couple were in an open marriage and in the meantime, Diane continued to pursue her relationship with Robyn which then led to the three individuals getting involved in a complex love triangle. Before she was found dead, Diane had reportedly moved out of the house she shared with Robert, and moved in with Robyn.

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2) Diane Delia was shot 4 times before her body was dumped in the Hudson River

On October 28, 1981, Diane's corpse, wrapped in a yellow blanket, was found in the Hudson River. She had been shot four times, with one bullet piercing her eye, and the other three hitting her in the skull. Both Robyn Arnold and Robert Ferrara were considered persons of interest in the murder.

Authorities, however, only got a breakthrough when a man named Dominick Georgio was arrested on unrelated charges. Dominick then informed them of both Robyn's and Robert's involvement in the heinous murder. Following their arrests, both suspects were charged of the murder within a week.

Robyn claimed to have an alibi for the time of the murder, but investigators found the victim's shoes in her closet and learned that the yellow blanket wrapped over Diane's body also belonged to her.

Moreover, a witness came forward alleging that Robert had already sold his wife's diamond ring before her body was discovered in the Hudson.

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3) Robert Ferrara confessed to their roles in Diane Delia's murder in a letter

While being held in a prison cell, Robert reportedly wrote a letter to Dominick, confessing to his and Robyn Arnold's roles in Diane's shooting death. The same letter was used to implicate both of them in the crime.

According to The Cinemaholic, in the letter, he stated that the pistol used to shoot the victim was the same one she had previously purchased to commit a robbery. He also mentioned how Robyn was the first to fire the initial two shots and that he ended her life after firing two more bullets.

The following year, Robyn Arnold was acquitted of the murder charge and Robert Ferrara was found guilty of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison and was released on parole in 2008.

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Murder in the Big Apple chronicles Diane Delia's murder case from decades ago this Thursday, June 1, 2023, at 10 pm ET.