By Jerald Jimenez
01 Oct 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
A US Navy veteran was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for the brutal murder of his sister, whom he stabbed with a bayonet and an awl in their New York home.
The man, who suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, acknowledged that he acted under paranoia caused by watching television programs about true crimes.
The events occurred on April 28, 2022, when Anthony Dibella, 53, called 911 to report that he had killed his sister Wanda Paoli, 67, because she was “a witch” who “got in his way.” communication with God.”
The agents who responded to the scene found Paoli’s lifeless body on the porch of the home they shared with her 89-year-old mother, who was unharmed. The victim had multiple stab wounds to the head, neck and face.
Dibella was charged with second-degree murder, assault with intent to cause serious injury and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
In the judicial process, the defendant acknowledged that he stopped taking his psychotropic medications after attending a religious healing service in 2019.
He added that he became obsessed with the idea that his sister wanted to kill their mother, and it was based on his love of true crime reality shows.
At the sentencing hearing, held on September 20, Paoli’s sons, Shawh and Josh, expressed their outrage following the crime their uncle committed.
“He selfishly and violently took her life and destroyed our family,” the brothers said in the room. “Every day is difficult and no one can understand the physiological impact that this senseless tragedy has had… on the lives of our entire family, because our mother is no longer here with us. “I can’t even put into words how much we miss her.”
Dibella, for her part, did not apologize for her action, but tried to justify it by stating that she “saved her mother” on the day of the crime. In response, the prosecutor objected to her words and pointed out that they were there to pass sentence, not to belittle the victim of the murder she committed.
Judge David Renzi rejected Dibella’s arguments, reminding him that he had waived any defense based on his mental health by pleading guilty to second-degree murder.
With information from Fox News