Philadelphia Inquirer | By Joseph A. Slobodzian
The May-September romance between 26-year-old Antoinette Austin and 57-year-old Edward Wilson ended explosively on March 18, 2009.
Wilson, whom Austin left after a stroke left him disabled, depressed, and abusive, killed his ex-girlfriend with a shotgun blast to the back and then blew off his face in a failed suicide attempt.
"It's very sad," said Common Pleas Court Judge Rose Marie DeFino-Nastasi.
But not so sad that the judge flinched at sentencing Wilson to 15 to 30 years in prison for his third-degree murder conviction. She also ordered Wilson to reimburse Austin's family for $9,000 in funeral expenses.
"When you take a life, it's monumental," DeFino-Nastasi told Wilson. "It is the biggest thing that can happen in this universe."
"I just want to say I'm sorry," Wilson mumbled through the semblance of a face that surgeons have reconstructed.
Wilson was found guilty by a jury in July after a trial in which defense attorney Thomas Burke did not contest the killing.
Austin, an aspiring cosmetician, lived for eight years with Wilson in his house in the first block of North Salford Street in West Philadelphia. She left in October 2008, telling friends Wilson had become abusive.
On March 18, 2009, Austin was found dying on the edge of the golf course in Cobbs Creek Park, in the 7500 block of Lansdowne Avenue. With her last words, a police officer testified, Austin said Wilson shot her and directed them to the Salford Street house.
Wilson was already there. He held police at bay almost two hours before shooting himself in the face with the 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun he used to kill Austin.
Burke argued that it was a "classic crime of passion." On Monday, he cited Wilson's remorse and the support of his mother and two sisters present in the courtroom.
"How much jail time does he need to learn his lesson and not be a danger to the community?" asked Burke, who argued for a sentence of no more than 71/2 years.
Assistant District Attorney James Berardinelli asked the judge to impose the maximum prison term of 221/2 to 45 years.
"This was a victim who did absolutely nothing wrong here, who did nothing more than want to live her life," Berardinelli said.
Austin's mother, Pamelarn Austin, and stepfather Stephan Hollinger made victim-impact statements describing how they were devastated by her death.
Hollinger said Austin's relationship with Wilson was a source of family conflict and referred to a period of estrangement.
DeFino-Nastasi agreed that Wilson had never before been arrested, served honorably for five years in the Army and had worked his entire life. But his first and last illegal act, she said, was "such a heinous one."
"The defendant's injuries were caused by the defendant," the judge added. "I don't see any mitigating evidence here."
