In the quiet neighborhood of Ozone Park, Queens, a shocking act of violence shattered the afternoon calm on May 4, 2022. Anna Torres, a 51-year-old woman, was fatally shot in the entrance of her own home. The incident unfolded around 2:30 p.m. when a man approached her house on 109th Avenue and knocked on the door. When she answered, he opened fire, striking her in the neck and arm.
The man responsible for this brazen daylight attack was identified as 41-year-old Giuseppe Canzani from
the nearby neighborhood of Howard Beach. Shortly after the shooting, in a surprising turn of events, Canzani drove to the 106th Precinct and surrendered to the police. He placed his. 45-caliber handgun on the sidewalk and informed the officers that he was there to turn himself in for the shooting. He was taken into custody without incident and was subsequently charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
As investigators delved into the motive behind this seemingly senseless act, a peculiar and tragic reason emerged. Anna Torres was known in her community as a psychic and tarot card reader, a service she provided from her home. Canzani held a delusional belief that Torres was a witch who had cast a curse upon him, and he claimed this was why he sought her out and ended her life. Her grieving husband, David Aguilar, expressed his profound loss and confusion, stating he had never heard of Canzani before this devastating event. It was later revealed that Torres's son is a member of the New York City Police Department, though investigators quickly determined this had no connection to the shooting.
The legal proceedings that followed brought some measure of justice for Anna Torres and her family. Giuseppe Canzani ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison, which will be followed by five years of post-release supervision. The resolution of the case closed a painful chapter for a family and a community left to grapple with the shocking and violent loss of a beloved member.
