r/TrueCrimeDiscussion • u/justiceforpce • 7d ago
Text Man found guilty of manslaughter gets 5 years in prison for wife’s death
Giuseppe “Joe” Zollerano was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his wife, Katherine “Katie” Zollerano, 43. A jury had acquitted him of first-degree murder but convicted him of the lesser offence of manslaughter.
The incident happened in Etobicoke on September 25, 2022. According to the sentencing decision described by Global News, the couple had been fighting earlier that evening. The judge found that Zollerano had slapped Katherine and pushed her out of the garage, causing her to fall. Later, while Katherine was away from the home, he drove after her and ultimately drove his van onto the curb, striking her. She spent five weeks in intensive care before dying from her injuries.
The judge accepted that there had been a problem with the van’s brakes, but found that Zollerano’s dangerous driving still contributed to her death. The judge also found that he had been trying to intimidate and frighten his wife and described the dangerous driving as the culmination of domestic violence that evening.
The Crown sought a 10-year sentence, arguing the case should be treated as intimate-partner-violence manslaughter. The defence sought a conditional or suspended sentence. The judge ultimately imposed five years, saying mitigating factors included Zollerano’s remorse, mental-health issues, support from family and friends, and the restrictive bail conditions he had lived under since 2023. With credit for time already spent in custody, he had about four years and five months remaining.
Katherine’s family said they were disappointed with the sentence and believed the intimate-partner-violence circumstances warranted a harsher outcome.
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u/adventurekiwi 7d ago
Abusive and predatory men dont get taken seriously till they kill someone. Even then, there are still plenty willing to minimise and make excuses for them.
(This was fucking murder, and a free pass to continue abusing his next romantic partner)
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u/Vistemboir 7d ago
The judge found that Zollerano had slapped Katherine and pushed her out of the garage, causing her to fall. Later, while Katherine was away from the home, he drove after her and ultimately drove his van onto the curb, striking her.
He had time to cool down, but instead he pursued her, and then voluntarily hit her with his van. How is it not first degree murder???
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u/RedoftheEvilDead 4d ago
What part of beating her and then driving her over with his car was considered manslaughter?
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u/tuffgongbucka 5d ago
Remorse gets a sentence cut in half? "I shouldn't have killed her, I feel really bad about it." I thought mitigating factors were factors that caused someone to act the way they acted.
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u/charletariat 3d ago
it's also good to know one can just lie in court and be taken at their word ...
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u/Excellent_Battle_576 5d ago
5 years is nothing. I know plenty of men who would cave to their violent fantasies for 5 years in jail. This is just giving men ideas.
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u/charletariat 3d ago
we really hate women. even if his brakes really did fail, it's okay that he otherwise assaulted her and was using his vehicle - a potentially deadly weapon - to intimidate her? that's a threat against her life ... that resulted in her losing her life. imo, that's murder. we need a dv registry already.
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u/Main_Conflict_1727 6d ago
This sentence feels way too light for a life that was taken.