Matthew Bonwill DiMaggio, a 21-year-old man, became the victim of a fatal shooting during a planned marijuana robbery at the Sentinel Motel in Birmingham Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The violence occurred on December 12, 1994, and left DiMaggio with a devastating gunshot wound from which he died nine days later, on December 21.
The events began when Paul Wayland, a 26-year-old Australian national, arrived in Delaware after traveling across the country from California with a
large quantity of marijuana. Wayland contacted DiMaggio, and the two met at a local restaurant before going to DiMaggio's residence. There, DiMaggio removed most of the packages of marijuana from Wayland's vehicle and made several telephone calls to arrange for the drugs to be weighed, packaged and distributed at the Sentinel Motel.
Later that evening, DiMaggio and Wayland drove to the motel, where they met Jeffrey Burger, an acquaintance whom DiMaggio had previously used to distribute drugs. Before DiMaggio and Wayland arrived, Burger had contacted Claudio Manzanet, a man he knew through drug dealing, and told him about the opportunity to steal the marijuana. Burger was also acquainted with Manzanet's cousin, Jorge Fraticelli.
Several weeks earlier, Burger had sold Fraticelli a handgun that was intended for Manzanet. In return, Burger was promised $20 and cocaine. That weapon would later become central to the robbery and DiMaggio's death.
After DiMaggio and Wayland began unpacking the marijuana in the motel room, they realized that they needed a scale and plastic bags to divide and package it. Burger volunteered to retrieve a scale stored at a garage in West Chester. When Burger accidentally locked his keys inside his vehicle, DiMaggio drove him to the garage. Burger obtained the scale, and DiMaggio returned to the Sentinel Motel.
Burger did not immediately follow him. Instead, he went to Manzanet's apartment, where Manzanet, Fraticelli and Manzanet's girlfriend, Amy Sortino, were present. While there, Burger and the others developed a plan to rob DiMaggio and Wayland of the marijuana. The men knew where the drugs were being kept, and Manzanet had possession of the handgun Burger had previously supplied.
The group left the apartment in two vehicles. Burger drove his own car, while Sortino followed in another vehicle with Manzanet and Fraticelli as passengers. Concerned that they might be recognized during the robbery, they stopped at a Wawa convenience store, where Burger purchased a knit cap and pantyhose that could be used as disguises.
After arriving at the Sentinel Motel, Burger returned to the room and rejoined DiMaggio and Wayland as they weighed the marijuana. Approximately ten minutes later, someone began rattling and pounding on the motel-room door. Burger looked through the window and saw Fraticelli wearing the knit cap Burger had just purchased. He also saw Manzanet holding the handgun.
Burger initially opened the door and saw the two men moving away from it. At that point, he apparently reconsidered his participation in the robbery, stepped back inside the room and closed the door. The pounding soon resumed. As the door began to open, two gunshots were fired through it.
Wayland jumped into a closet, while Burger moved away from the entrance. The door was then kicked completely open, knocking DiMaggio to the floor behind it. Blood streamed from DiMaggio's face, and investigators believed the force of the door may have also broken his nose.
Manzanet entered the room carrying the gun and demanded that Burger surrender the bag of marijuana. A third shot was fired during the confrontation. Burger was struck in the calf, but DiMaggio suffered a far more serious injury. One of the bullets fired through the door had entered his left eye, leaving him blind and causing catastrophic damage to his brain.
The assailants fled the motel with the marijuana. DiMaggio was still alive but mortally wounded. Rather than remain at the motel and summon immediate help, Burger, Wayland and DiMaggio gathered their belongings and left, apparently fearing the arrival of police because of the drugs involved.
Because DiMaggio could no longer see, Wayland drove DiMaggio's truck away from the motel. Burger, despite the gunshot wound to his leg, drove his own vehicle. Wayland eventually stopped at a gas station and attempted to make a 911 call, but he did not clearly report the shooting or request meaningful assistance.
Wayland then left DiMaggio near the truck, bleeding and severely disoriented, and hitchhiked to a nearby restaurant. A gas-station attendant noticed DiMaggio's condition and contacted police.
When officers arrived, they found DiMaggio near the truck with his face covered in blood. He was staggering incoherently in circles and resisted the officers' attempts to help him. Emergency personnel eventually transported him to a hospital, where doctors determined that the bullet had entered through his left eye and penetrated his brain.
DiMaggio underwent brain surgery, but the damage was too severe. He never recovered from the wound and died on December 21, nine days after the shooting.
Meanwhile, Wayland's frantic behavior at the restaurant attracted the attention of an employee, who called police. When officers questioned him, Wayland initially denied knowing DiMaggio or having any knowledge of what had happened. An anonymous telephone call received at the restaurant, along with information officers were already gathering, helped investigators connect Wayland to the shooting.
Under further questioning, Wayland admitted his association with DiMaggio and described the marijuana delivery, the gathering at the Sentinel Motel and the shooting. His account gave investigators an important starting point for identifying the people involved.
Motel-registration information and telephone records eventually led investigators to Burger. Although he had been shot in the calf, Burger had not sought medical attention and had not reported the crime. He later obtained an attorney, surrendered to police and provided detailed statements describing the robbery plot and implicating himself, Manzanet, Fraticelli and Sortino.
Burger entered open guilty pleas to third-degree murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy. He also agreed to testify for the prosecution against the other defendants. Despite his involvement in arranging the robbery, supplying the gun before the crime and helping the others reach the motel, Burger received a sentence of 2½ to 5 years in prison.
Manzanet, Fraticelli and Sortino were tried together in July 1995. Prosecutors argued that Manzanet and Fraticelli had joined the conspiracy to steal the marijuana and that DiMaggio was killed while they were carrying out the armed robbery. Under Pennsylvania law, a killing committed during the commission of a felony such as robbery could support a conviction for second-degree murder even without proof that the defendants had specifically intended to kill DiMaggio.
Burger and Wayland both testified for the Commonwealth. Their testimony described the planning of the robbery, the purchase of the disguises, the arrival at the motel and the gunfire through the door. The prosecution also relied on physical evidence, motel and telephone records and the conduct of the defendants before and after the shooting.
On July 18, 1995, the jury convicted Manzanet and Fraticelli of second-degree murder, robbery, criminal conspiracy and related offenses. Sortino, who had driven one of the vehicles to the motel but was not accused of entering the room or firing the gun, was acquitted.
Manzanet was sentenced to life imprisonment for second-degree murder. He also received a consecutive sentence of three to six years for criminal conspiracy and a concurrent term of six to 24 months for carrying a firearm without a license. Fraticelli was likewise sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the felony murder.
The convictions of Manzanet and Fraticelli were upheld during later appeals. Manzanet continued challenging his conviction for years, including efforts to obtain DNA testing of a bandana connected to the disguises used during the robbery. He argued that testing might establish that he had not worn it.
The courts rejected that argument because the identity of the person wearing the bandana was not considered decisive. The prosecution's case established that Manzanet had participated in planning and carrying out the armed robbery and had possessed the gun at the motel. Even evidence suggesting that another participant wore a particular disguise would not have disproved his involvement in the underlying felony that resulted in DiMaggio's death.
DiMaggio's killing was therefore resolved through guilty pleas and jury convictions. Burger admitted his involvement and received a prison term of 2½ to 5 years after cooperating with prosecutors. Manzanet and Fraticelli were convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, while Sortino was acquitted. What began as an effort to package and distribute a shipment of marijuana ended in a planned robbery, gunfire through a motel-room door and the death of DiMaggio after nine days of hospitalization.
