‘In cold blood.’ Man fatally stabs stepdad, sets mom’s home on fire, NY officials say
A man on supervised release from federal prison stabbed his stepfather seven times, killing him, before destroying his mother’s apartment by setting it on fire two years ago, New York officials said.
Shane Gilleo, 32, of Peekskill, was sentenced to 25 years to life on a second-degree murder charge and five to 15 years on a third-degree arson charge, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced in a Sept. 24 news release.
He was convicted of both charges on Aug. 7, Rocah’s office said.
“This defendant murdered Edward Reeves in cold blood and then lit his own mother’s home on fire,” Rocah said in a statement. “Today’s sentence holds this defendant fully accountable for his violent and deadly actions.”
In court, a victim impact statement written by Mary Randolph, the sister of Reeves, was read and said Gilleo took “the life of the only father he knew” and described his killing as an “unimaginable event (that) has left us shattered,” according to The Journal News.
Gilleo’s defense attorney, Richard Ferrante, told McClatchy News on Sept. 25 that Gilleo contends he’s innocent and plans to file an appeal.
“The evidence presented was mostly circumstantial and in our view did not support the verdict,” Ferrante said in an emailed statement.
Around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 14, 2022, Gilleo fatally stabbed Reeves, who was 48, in his arm, stomach, thigh and chest in a parking lot of the apartment where his grandmother lived in Peekskill, according to the district attorney’s office.
Peekskill is about a 50-mile drive north from New York City.
Gilleo fled, leaving the knife used in the killing and his cellphone behind, officials said.
Reeves was taken to a hospital and died, according to officials
At the time, Gilleo was on home confinement and wore an ankle monitor in connection with a federal case.
He was previously convicted on a federal robbery charge and was put on home confinement because he violated his supervised release, The Journal News reported.
Eleven hours after stabbing Reeves, Gilleo went to his mother’s apartment in Peekskill, where police pursued him, and barricaded himself inside, officials said.
Gilleo lit three fires inside the apartment as police tried to have him surrender, according to officials.
Then he punched out the apartment’s windows and jumped “out of a second-story window,” officials said.
In her victim impact statement, Randolph wrote that Gilleo’s family still has love for him and prays for him, The Journal News reported.
“I can only imagine the pain, neglect or feelings of being ignored that may have contributed to this tragedy,” Randolph’s statement said, according to the newspaper. “But if there was ever one person who always included you and made sure you mattered it was your father and on that September morning you took him from all of us.”
This story was originally published September 25, 2024 at 11:35 AM with the headline "‘In cold blood.’ Man fatally stabs stepdad, sets mom’s home on fire, NY officials say."
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