A Navy veteran named Anthony Dibella has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing his sister, Paoli, with a bayonet blade and awl, according to FOX News. Dibella claimed that his sister’s fascination with true-crime content led him to believe she intended to kill their mother.
On April 28, 2022, Dibella called 911 dispatchers, telling them that his sister
“Wanda Paoli is being killed, she is a witch killed with a knife and awl, and is currently on the porch”
of their town of Lyme home, per court documents. When first responders arrived at the scene they discovered Paoli’s lifeless body with multiple stab wounds to her head, neck, and face.
Dibella told the court that he suffers from schizoaffective and bipolar disorders. He expressed his hope for treatment at a VA hospital instead of imprisonment. Paoli’s sons, Shawn and Josh, wrote that they hope Dibella
“rots in prison with no chance of ever getting out for what he has done”
and that their uncle is
“nothing to [them] now”
in their statement shared at the Sept. 20 sentencing hearing.
“He selfishly and violently took her life and has destroyed our family,”
the statement read.
“Every day is difficult, and no one can ever understand the physiological impact this senseless tragedy has had… on the lives of our entire family because our mother is no longer here with us. I cannot even put into words how much she is missed.”
Dibella admitted that he
“stopped all [his] psychotropic medications”
after
“attending a healing church service”
in 2019. Despite his actions, Dibella tried to rationalize the murder based on his sister’s interests and a minor bruise on their mother’s hand. The veteran told the court,
“I believe without a shadow of a doubt that I saved my mother’s life that day,”
Dibella concluded.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
