WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A man who murdered his sister, claiming she was a witch, is going to spend 18 years to life in prison.
Anthony Dibella was sentenced in Jefferson County Court on Wednesday.
The 53-year-old town of Lyme man murdered his sister on April 28, 2022, at the Point Peninsula home they shared with their elderly mother.
According to court documents, Dibella repeatedly stabbed 67-year-old Wanda Paoli in the head, neck and face with a bayonet blade and an awl.
The papers stated that Dibella told police he killed his sister because she was “getting in the way of me communicating to God” and that he “was done with her witchcraft.”
Jefferson County dispatchers said they received a call from a man named Tony, who said, “Wanda Paoli is being killed, she is a witch, killed with a knife and awl, and is currently on the porch.”
When officials arrived at the home at 6782 Failing Shores Lane, they found Paoli dead on a porch outside the house.
Police found their 89-year-old mother unhurt inside the home.
Dibella was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
He pleaded guilty to the murder count on July 19.
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