Two years after 60-year-old Rose Di Pinto, an employee with Victim Services Toronto, was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her father’s Etobicoke home, her brother John Di Pinto has been given a life sentence with a parole ineligibility period of 10 years.
In a downtown courtroom Monday morning, Superior Court Justice Maureen Forestell read out her reasons for the sentence in what she called “a serious, violent offence,” as Di Pinto, 57, listened via Zoom from the Toronto East Detention Centre.
Court heard Di Pinto pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Sept. 23, 2023, just after a preliminary inquiry had begun. The judge said prior to this offence, Di Pinto had no criminal record and, in the years leading up to the murder, he had become the primary caregiver for his father, who had dementia.
“On Sept. 4, 2021, while near the top of a set of stairs in their father’s home, John Di Pinto and Rose Di Pinto had an argument about the care arrangements for their father.
“Mr. Di Pinto became angry and pushed his sister down the stairs. He then went to the foot of the stairs where his sister had fallen and choked his sister until she died,” said Forestell, citing the cause of death as blunt force neck compression.
According to a news release at the time, Toronto Police were called to the home on Stanmills Road, near Islington Avenue and The Queensway, for a medical complaint.
Following an investigation, Di Pinto was arrested for the murder. Forestell called it an aggravating factor that John, in several seconds of rage, both pushed and choked the victim, intentionally causing her death.
Furthermore, it happened in a place Rose Di Pinto should have felt safe and in the presence of her brother. The judge also noted that John Di Pinto lied after the offence about the circumstances of his sister’s fall.
Forestell said victim impact statements filed with the court described Rose Di Pinto’s commitment to her family. “Her family and co-workers at Victim Services Toronto have been shaken by the loss of this kind and generous person,” Forestell said.
Crown attorneys were seeking a period of parole ineligibility of 12 years. Defence counsel suggested a period of parole ineligibility of 10 years would be more appropriate.
Forestell took into account the fact that John Di Pinto is a first-time offender who entered a guilty plea at an early opportunity. She said his plea is an indication of remorse.
Di Pinto was also given a lifetime weapons ban, has been ordered to give his DNA to the National DNA Data Bank, and is forbidden from contacting a number of family members until the completion of his sentence.