TV Crime Show Retells 1988 Encinitas Murder

ENCINITAS, CA -- Nearly 30 years ago, a beloved Encintias man named Sal Ruscitti was murdered in front of his wife and daughter in their home. The sudden heinous crime stumped investigators for years as they worked to determine who killed the father of four children. Now, the story is being retold by American television network, Investigation Discovery.

The story, which will air on "On the Case with Paula Zahn" on Sunday, interviews family members, investigators and attorneys as they share how Ruscittiwas murdered and what may have been the motive behind the crime.

Ruscitti was gunned down in his North County home on Sept. 17, 1988 just pass 8 p.m. His wife, Barbara Ruscitti, said he had just put his grandson down before he went to his front door where two men waited. One man, who remains at-large today, shot him, officials said.

Ruscitti, a car salesman, was just 58.

"My father went to the door then we heard shots," his daughter, Gina who was just 23 at the time, told TV host Zahn. "My feet were like in cement. I could not move. My mother began screaming then I began screaming."

Ruscitti's other daughter, Lisa, whose children were in the home during the attack said she rushed home when her mother told her that "someone just came in and shot daddy."

"I was absolutely in shock," said Lisa, who was 29 at the time, on the show. "My whole life is in that house. All I could see is my dad. That's a vision you'll never forget."

Nearly three years after his Ruscitti's murder, investigators arrested a man they said killed him out of greed.

"On the Case with Paula Zahn" airs at 10 p.m. Sunday on Investigation Discovery.

--Photo 1: Sal Ruscitti; Photo 2: Sal and Barbara Ruscitti (Photos courtesy of Investigation Discovery)