Christopher Tucker said he "snapped."
By Emily Blackwood — Written on Nov 10, 2017
What was planned as magical evening of love in the eyes of Christopher Tucker, instead ended in bloodshed, murder and fleeing the state.
Tara Serino, a 19-year-old girl living in Pennsylvania, went with the 34-year-old to his home in Berks County just after midnight on Oct. 30. Her father, Fred Serino, was concerned, but she was friends with Tucker and told her dad that she would call him later to let him know she was okay.
She never called.
Worried, Fred Serino called the state police at 9:30 p.m. the next day to have them check Tucker's home to help him find his daughter, but when they arrived they couldn't make contact with anyone inside.
On Wednesday, a stranger knocked on Fred Serino's door and said he was Christopher Tucker's father. His son had been picked up at a rest top and waken to the hospital for an evaluation.
John Tucker also claimed that Tara Serino's belongings were in his son's home and that he wanted to return them. But as far as he knew, she wasn't with him in Illinois.
Photo of Tara Serino
That same day, Fred Serino reported his daughter missing. The officers who found Tucker at the rest stop said he wasn't making sense when they found him and no one was with him.
When police later interviewed him about the disappearance of Tara Serino, he admitted to killing her.
According to Tucker, a few days earlier he had asked the teen to marry him. She said no and told him she was sleeping with other men. Tucker alleges she then made a comment that he should just kill her.
So he did. Tucker told police he strangled Serino until he thought she was dead. Then he poked her eyes out, snapped her neck and hit her with a hatchet until he knew that, for sure, she was gone.
Tucker told police that he wrapped Serino's body in a rug and left. When police went back to Tucker's house, they found her body wrapped in a rug in the bedroom. Her injuries were consistent with his confession.
Police say he also used a 25-pound weight plate in the murder.
He was charged with murder, criminal homicide and two counts of each aggravated assault and possession of an instrument of crime.
Emily Blackwood is an editor at YourTango who covers pop culture, true crime, dating, relationships and everything in between. Every Wednesday at 10:20 p.m. you can ask her any and all questions about self-love, dating, and relationships LIVE on YourTango’s Facebook page. You can follow her on Instagram (@blackw00d) and Twitter (@emztweetz).