(VitalNews.org) – A 70-year-old woman has been charged with third-degree murder after stabbing a man to death with a hidden blade. Renee DiPietro, from Pennsylvania, is charged with killing Michael Sides, 31, after coming to her son’s aid during a bar brawl on June 10. DiPietro told police that her son, Jason DiPietro, had phoned her from the bar in tears after a dispute between himself, Michael Sides, and an unnamed mutual friend. Earlier that night, Jason had allegedly sucker punched the mutual friend. Sides was then overheard declaring his intent to confront him for his actions, according to a statement made by the District Attorney’s office.
After receiving the upset phone call from her son, Renee and her husband Michael DiPietro decided to drive to his location. Before getting in the car, however, an affidavit states that Renee picked up a baseball bat and her walking cane that housed a concealed 16-inch blade. Upon arriving at the parking lot however, Sides allegedly blocked Jason from entering the vehicle, and a fight broke out between the two men. A friend of Sides, Dan Rogers, told police that he then saw Renee making a lunging movement towards Sides with her cane. She is accused of hitting him multiple times with the cane before its sheath came off, at which point she stabbed him. He fell to the ground, bleeding, and according to detectives, hit him once more before fleeing.
Rogers said that he realized his friend had been stabbed and needed help, but the DiPietros all fled the scene in their white sedan. Before taking off, surveillance footage allegedly shows Renee attempting to stop witnesses from taking down her number plate by bending it upwards.
When first responders arrived, they found Michael Sides bleeding badly and unresponsive. He later died from his wounds. Renee DiPietro was questioned by detectives about the incident and turned herself in shortly afterwards. She faces charges of involuntary manslaughter, third-degree murder, and possession of an instrument of crime, but has been released on $50,000 bail.
Copyright 2023, VitalNews.org
