NJ man gets 25 years in mistress' hammer killing

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A married man who researched murder methods online and then used a hammer to kill his mistress after she threatened to expose his double life has been sentenced to spend at least the next 20 years in state prison.

Rosario DiGirolamo, 33, pleaded guilty last month to killing Amy Giordano with a hammer thump to the head. Prosecutors examining his computer had uncovered Google searches including one for "lethal karate blows to the back of the head" made days before the killing.

DiGirolamo kept his mistress of two years and their year-old son in an $850-per-month apartment above a nail salon in Hightstown while having a wife and son of a similar age living in a Tudor-style house in Millstone, about 20 miles away. Prosecutors said DiGirolamo, a computer analyst, killed his lover in June 2007 after she demanded a more expensive apartment he couldn't afford and threatened to tell his wife about their relationship.

DiGirolamo received probation for abandoning their child outside a Delaware hospital with a note pinned to his diaper two days after Giordano, 27, went missing.

Judge Edward Neafsey called the crimes "ghastly." He rejected DiGirolamo's claim that he killed Giordano unintentionally after an argument over finances turned violent.

The judge said DiGirolamo's Internet searches demonstrated his intent. Though DiGirolamo told prosecutors he suffered a panic attack after striking Giordano with the hammer, the judge said his behavior was inconsistent with someone in a panicked state: He didn't call an ambulance or try to help Giordano, dismembered her body and dumped it in New York City, cleaned blood from the apartment, drove the child to Delaware and fled to Italy.

The judge said DiGirolamo "refused to aid the woman who bore his child."

"Even in death, you did not give dignity to Amy Giordano," the judge said before imposing sentence. "The time to show remorse and regret was after you killed Amy Giordano, not on your judgment day."

The judge sentenced DiGirolamo to 25 years, the term agreed to in the plea deal, with more than 21 years to be served before he becomes eligible for parole. But with credit for time already served, DiGirolamo will become eligible for parole in 20 years, when he's 53.

DiGirolamo would have faced 30 years to life in prison if convicted of murder after trial.

Giordano had no family members in court for DiGirolamo's sentencing.

DiGirolamo, who had close-cropped hair, wore an orange prison jumpsuit and was shackled at the ankles and wrists, declined to address the court.

Afterward, his lawyer, Jerome Ballarotto, said there was nothing his client could say to mitigate what he did.

Mercer County prosecutor Joseph Bocchini attended the sentencing. Afterward, he credited prosecutors with finding the Internet evidence that led to the plea and averted a lengthy trial.