Anthony Dibella used a bayonet blade and an awl to stab his sister Wanda Paoli, 67, in the head, neck and face back in April 2022, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
The sentencing of a New York man who confessed to murdering his sister took a shocking turn when the defendant used his time to double-down on his actions.
Anthony Dibella used a bayonet blade and an awl to stab his sister Wanda Paoli, 67, in the head, neck and face back in April 2022, according to court documents obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Paoli, a mother of two who loved true crime, had been living with and caring for her mother at the time.
Those documents also reveal that Anthony is the person who then called emergency responders, saying: "Wanda Paoli is being killed, she is a witch, killed with a knife and awl, and is currently on the porch."
Officers arrived to find the victim dead on the porch and immediately arrested Dibella, who according to the indictment said: "I had to do what I did to her because she was getting in the way of me communicating to God."
The indictment revealed that officers then went inside to check on the siblings' 89-year-old mother, who was unharmed in the attack.
Dibella eventually agreed to a deal with prosecutors court records show, and pleaded guilty to the charge of second-degree murder.
He appeared in court last week for his sentencing hearing, which quickly devolved when he began to speak.
A transcript obtained by Inside Edition Digital shows that the children of the victim spoke first.
"When we heard what happened, we were angry, in shock, and then a deep sadness came over us that I'm afraid will never go away," Paoli's sons Josh and Shawn said in a letter that was read in court. "Every day is difficult, and no one can ever understand the physiological impact this senseless tragedy has had not only on our lives but 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."
The two men then tore into their uncle.
"We hope Tony rots in prison with no chance of ever getting out for what he has done," read the letter. "He selfishly and violently took her life and has destroyed our family."
They also noted: "Tony is nothing to us now."
Anthony spoke next, but instead of being apologetic continued to accuse his sister of wanting to kill their mother.
He said that his mental health issues began while serving in Desert Storm, and that "in February or March of 1994, I was officially diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder and bipolar with manic depression."
For the next 25 years, Anthony told the judge, he bounced between jobs.
"In March of 2019, after attending a healing church service, I stopped all my psychotropic medications. Despite all of my willpower; my paranoia got the best of me April 28, 2022," Anthony said according to the transcript.
Anthony told the judge he moved back to his mother's home in 2020 because he feared his sister might try to kill their mother.
"She was obsessed with reality shows about serial killers and the Amityville murders," Anthony said in court. "Meanwhile, Wanda Paoli told me she had bought and purchased a battery powered chainsaw."
Anthony claimed in court that he murdered his sister after seeing his mother with a minor injury - a bruise on his mother's hand.
He ended with a plea for leniency,
"I wrote this to you, Your Honor, because I thought if you knew what happened and why, you might get me help from a VA hospital instead of going to prison."
His final remarks were: "I believe without a shadow of a doubt that I saved my mother's life that day."
In the end, Anthony was sent to prison and will serve a sentence of 18 years to life for the murder.
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