Earlier this year, when Arizona State University honors student Zachary Marco realized he was charged twice for an item on his debit card, he became so angry according to his father that he said no one will ever take anything from him ever again.
But on Sunday night, as Tempe police and Marco’s family members believe he was walking from the ASU library to his apartment in the 1500 block of East University Drive, someone took Marco’s life for an old laptop computer and a cell phone.
“I wish he would’ve handed it over,” said Zachary’s father, Daniel Marco of Mesa, a criminal defense attorney.
Marco, 21, a junior honors student majoring in political science at ASU, was shot in the chest about 9:30 p.m. near the campus as his younger sister, Katie, 19, was studying a block away at a Starbucks coffee shop. Marco later died at a nearby hospital.
Witnesses said they saw two men running from the scene, and police and family members are asking anyone who knows anything about the crime to come forward.
Daniel Marco has faith that whoever is responsible for the death of his son will “mess up” and be caught.
Marco’s death marked Tempe’s 12th homicide of the year, nearing the most annual homicides the city has had in 10 years — 13 in 2000, according to information from Tempe police. Mesa has had 11 homicides this year.
As the Marcos finalized the plans for Zachary’s funeral services on Tuesday, Daniel Marco and his son’s roommate, Will Sullivan, wanted to talk more about Marco’s promising future than his tragic death. At ASU, Marco also was working toward a minor in philosophy. In addition to his full load of classes, he tutored three groups from political science classes and was involved in Habitat for Humanity. He also was excited to be selected to go through a second round of interviews for an internship in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Senate — he was among 300 applicants narrowed to a group of 60.
Last year, Marco served as a page in the state Legislature and was planning for a career in law, following in his father’s and grandfather’s footsteps. The Marco family was from Cleveland, and related to the late Anthony Celebrezze and Anthony Celebrezze Jr., who both held high state political offices during Ohio’s Democratic heyday.
“This is a loss to myself, my family, our friends and the rest of the world,” Daniel Marco said. “He was not concerned with race, creed or wealth. He was obsessed with truth and right. How many people like that do you meet? He saw the dysfunction in partisanship politics, but was the only one I knew who could sit through a session of the state Legislature’s budget sessions and come out with a positive thought when most people came out of it screaming and throwing up their arms. I think he would’ve made things better, but now, we’ll never know.”
“Whoever did this ripped the world off of a great person,” said Sullivan, who knew Marco for about six years. “He was the hardest-working person I have ever seen. He was going places. I don’t think there’s any amount of justice that can make up for this.”
Marco, a 2008 graduate of Mesa’s Red Mountain High School where he played football, wrestled and ran cross country and track.
Marco’s high school wrestling coach, Dan DiDomenico, described Marco as someone who was “polite, respectable, coachable and had a sense of humor,” who was competitive in the 135-pound weight class and advanced to the state tournament as a senior.
“He was an important part of the team,” DiDomenico said. “He was a person you wish all the kids were like.”
Marco also is survived by his two sisters, Katie, 19, and Michelle, 15; his mother Claudia and grandfather Richard.
Katie Marco remembered “Zach” as someone who was always there for her and always came to watch her lacrosse games.
“He always worked so hard and he always pushed you hard,” she said. “He didn’t deserve to go the way he did.”
Anyone with information on the slaying can contact Tempe police at (480) 350-8311 or Silent Witness at (480) 948-6377.
az2008 posted at 5:35 pm on Tue, Oct 19, 2010.
I think ASU policy against carrying firearms on campus makes students unsafe. It sounds like a reasonable policy. But, it marks students as easy prey when coming and going to campus. Basically, the policy renders students defenseless beyond the campus -- where the school has no chance of providing for the students' safety.
I'm not saying I have a solution. But, I think it's logical that, when you see college-age students, carrying college-related materials, around a college that prohibits carrying concealed weapons... that person is nearly guaranteed to be unable to offer resistance.
Related to this, a few weeks ago it was reported that there was a rash of armed robberies north of Univ., West of Mill. It said victims were approached and asked "are you a college student?"
I don't think that's a coincidence. I don't think it was just a ruse to engage the victim. I think it was an attempt to ascertain if they were among the class of citizen in that area who can be counted on to present no lethal resistance to violence.
JStandley posted at 7:04 pm on Tue, Oct 19, 2010.
Dude, your "logic" is flawed. By your reasoning, nobody would have been killed during our wild-west/frontier days. Back when everyone was armed. What they did back then was wait til your back was turned then shoot you in the back. It looks like you might need to brush up on your history a bit.
bfineprint posted at 10:29 am on Wed, Oct 20, 2010.
az2008,
I don't believe that Marco was the type of person who would have carried a concealed weapon. And it would be a huge liability for ASU to allow concealed weapons on campus. All it would take is for one killing on campus and ASU would be sued by millions.
I believe the main problem is something you brought up in your post. I went back and found the article you mentioned. It was in late July. There had been a lot of armed robberies near the campus and the question is how much enforcement has Tempe Police done since then and had they caught anyone for those crimes. They still haven't solved the other student's killing, not far from Marco's murder.
This brings up another issue, however. And that deals with walking alone late at night. Since students are living near ASU's campus, there is an incorrect assumption of safety. I drove on University yesterday and some of these apartment complexes are a mile or two from campus. You can't assume it will be safe walking at night on a major street -- even one near ASU. This is a major urban university, which is near a wide variety of populations. And even walking late at night on campus by oneself is not a good idea. There are predators all around us, just waiting for an opportunity to strike. You need to be aware of your surroundings and be alert to any dangerous situations.
What needs to be looked at is how much enforcement are police doing near ASU, including the ASU police. I believe that the ASU police should be given the authority to patrol not only on the campus, but also near the campus. If Tempe police are not patrolling enough, then there needs to be a change made.
az2008 posted at 8:09 pm on Wed, Oct 20, 2010.
bfineprint,
A couple of points.
1. Even though ASU prohibits weapons on campus, that doesn't mean no weapons are on campus. It's just a sign. Merely a request. Only people who play by the rules obey signs. Someone intent on physical violence isn't going to think twice about disobeying a sign.
2. You may be right about ASU's liability if it didn't prohibit weapons on campus. But, what about its liability for claiming to control behavior (prohibiting weapons) when it's nothing more than a sign? No metal detectors?
IMO, their liability for a massacre would be much greater under the present circumstance. 2a) They claimed to control behavior. 2b) They set expectations that no guns are on campus. 2c) They attracted violent individuals by advertising the defenseless nature of staff/students (i.e., all the people who obey signs, and naively believed ASU was enforcing the rule in a more meaningful way than a simple request, or honor system.).
3. Aside from the question of whether ASU can or should attempt to control behavior using a simple request (via a sign), What business does ASU have disarming students during their travel from/to campus?
We know ASU isn't doing anything to actually prevent weapons on campus. It's just signs and an honor system. But, even if ASU used metal detectors to enforce the rule, what possible expectation could ASU have for providing for student safety while traveling from/to campus? If ASU has no such expectation, then isn't prohibiting weapons essentially jeapordizing student safety off campus? Extending ASU's property right beyond ASU's property?
IMO, ASU should be liable for creating an environment of highly-identifiable, disarmed individuals around the campus where ASU has no hope of providing for their safety.
From my perspective, the only want to eliminate that liability is if ASU provides lockers for students to "check" their weapons as the arrive and leave campus. That would create a clear demarcation of ASU's reasonable ability to control behavior, and a student's own responsibility. (Notwithstanding the point discussed above, that ASU really isn't doing anything to prevent guns on campus. It's just an honor system. A deceptive one considering how someone intent on using a gun wouldn't be thwarted by a simple sign.).
(Addressing JStandley) I understand that it may sound crazy to suggest students arm themselves. But, it's a simple fact that if I'm looking to use violence against someone, and an easily-identifiable class of person is least likely to be able to offer lethal force to defend themselves, that's the class of person I'm going to look for.
This is what happened in Florida in the late '80s and early '90s. Florida was one of the first states to license law-abiding, trained citizens to carry concealed weapons. After a decade or so, violent criminals began targeting tourists. Florida's license plates used the letter "Z" to identify rental cars. Anyone with that plate was far less likely to possess the means to resist. Attacks on tourists got so bad that the state changed its license plate system so rental cars couldn't be identified.
I understand your point about how crazy to consider students walking around campus packing concealed handguns. But, what makes you believe that's not happening now? The prohibition of weapons is just a sign. It leads good, honest people like you to believe the campus is safe. It's not. I believe there is a legitimate argument that the campus is less safe because so many people mindlessly believe signs. A body of naive people obeying signs is exactly what a mass murderer would want.
Something to think about.
beachdude posted at 5:57 pm on Fri, Oct 22, 2010.
Tragic. Only time will tell but when the monsters who did this are caught the only appropiate sentence is death.