Son gets 30 years for killing ex-federal prosecutor with axe

CHESTERFIELD, Va. – The son of a former federal prosecutor has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his father with an axe in Virginia.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a judge on Friday sentenced 32-year-old Frank Altimari after concluding his “detailed delusions that his father wanted a mercy killing by an axe is not reliably substantiated by the evidence.” Altimari had pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and malicious wounding in the November 2017 slaying of 61-year-old Nicholas Altimari.

The malicious wounding charge stemmed from the broken leg his stepmother suffered after he struck her and his father with a car.

Defence attorney Ali Amirshahi said he was surprised expert testimony about Altimari’s psychosis didn’t play a larger role in sentencing, but said “proving insanity is nearly impossible in Virginia.”

___

Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.richmond.com