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Thread: Jonathan Frederick Sander Sentenced to LWOP in 2016 NC Triple Murder

  1. #11
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    'It's my life involved:' Jon Sander defends sentencing outburst before judge removes him

    By Ed Crump
    WTVD-TV

    RALEIGH (WTVD) - Convicted murderer Jonathan Sander had to be removed from court again after another outburst.

    Sander was convicted April 8 of killing three of his former friends and neighbors in March 2016.

    Since then jurors have been hearing more evidence before they suggest a punishment for his actions.

    Closing arguments started Friday, but Sander did not make it through them without getting in trouble.

    While a prosecuting attorney was speaking to the jury, Sander spoke up to dispute what the attorney was saying.

    "There was no blood on the wound. It's a fact," Sander said.

    When the judge reprimanded him, Sander shot back.

    "It's my life involved. I was framed."

    That's when the judge ordered Sander be removed from the courtroom. At that pronouncement, applause erupted from the gallery.

    "Hey stop it!" the judge yelled at the gallery.

    When everything settled down the judge threatened the gallery against any more outbursts.

    "If I hear another outburst from the gallery like I heard last time, I'll remove you from the courtroom. But you're going to be going through that door, because I will hold you in contempt. I will not hesitate to do it. I don't care who you are or what your status is, decorum needs to be maintained in this courtroom," the judge said before allowing closing arguments to resume.

    All week, attorneys have presented evidence that the jury will consider when deciding if Sander will receive the death penalty.

    One piece of evidence actually brought Sander to tears, after weeks of him showing no emotion except anger. That evidence was letters from his children saying that they love him and miss him very much.

    If Sander is sentenced to death, he will be the second Wake County man to be sentenced to death in 2019. However, North Carolina has not gone through with executing an inmate since Samuel Flippin in Aug. 18, 2006.

    https://abc11.com/its-my-life-involv...s-him/5244749/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Man sentenced to life in prison for the triple slaying of his neighbors

    By Josh Shaffer
    Raleigh News & Observer

    RALEIGH - Jurors sentenced Jonathan Sander to life in prison Monday for the triple murder of neighbors Sandy Mazzella, his wife, Stephenie, and his 76-year-old mother, Elaine. All three were killed by close-range shotgun fire.

    Sander and Mazzella had been best friends and partners in a lawn and landscaping business, but their friendship transformed into an ever-escalating feud over money and business disagreements that finally erupted when the Mazzellas accused Sander of molesting an underage member of their family.

    Evidence over the three-week trial showed that Sander drank six Shock Top beers at Buffalo Brothers in Wake Forest, then took his shotgun and burst into his neighbors’ house screaming, “Child molester? Really, Sandy?”

    In a recorded confession shortly after the shootings, Sander told a sheriff’s detective he shot Sandy Mazzella for “revenge” so that “his family would be hurt like my family.”

    Sander lashed out at Sal Mazzella, father and husband to two of the victims, once while the elderly man testified and again when he tearfully left the courtroom following the conviction. He wore handcuffs and chains throughout the trial.

    https://www.newsobserver.com/news/lo...229147994.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  3. #13
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    ‘Get him out of my courtroom.’ Murderer gets stern rebuke from judge after life sentence

    By Josh Shaffer
    Raleigh News & Observer

    RALEIGH - Jurors sentenced Jonathan Sander to life in prison Monday for the triple murder of his next-door neighbors, sparing him the death penalty in the shotgun slayings that destroyed a pair of families.

    After three weeks and multiple outbursts from Sander, the Mazzella family rose to confront the convicted killer from the witness stand, offering both hope and forgiveness as grandchildren watched from the gallery.

    “I do not hate you!” said Sal Mazzella, who lost his wife, Elaine, son, Sandy, and daughter-in-law, Stephenie, during Sander’s 2016 rampage. “You heard what I said. I do not hate you! Through Jesus Christ, I do not hate you or your family. In you, Lord, I have chosen to forgive you.”

    Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley offered Sander a more stern goodbye, ordering him directly to Central Prison.

    “When you take your last breath,” Shirley said, ‘you’ve going to die alone and you’re going to die forgotten. Get him out of my courtroom.”

    Sander rolled his eyes and yawned during Mazzella’s statement, shaking his head and applauding when the widowed man finished. For roughly 30 minutes, Sander then gave a rambling speech disputing evidence, insulting his attorneys and accusing others for his crimes.

    “Everything’s a lie and a sham,” he said, handcuffed as he shuffled through notes. “On my appeal, you’ll see what justice is. You’re sentencing a good man to life, and that’s not going to fly.”

    Sander and Mazzella had been best friends and partners in a lawn and landscaping business, but their friendship transformed into an ever-escalating feud over money and business disagreements that finally erupted when the Mazzellas accused Sander of molesting an underage member of their family.

    Evidence over the trial showed that Sander drank six Shock Top beers at Buffalo Brothers in Wake Forest, then took his shotgun and burst into his neighbors’ house screaming, “Child molester? Really, Sandy?”

    In a recorded confession shortly after the shootings, Sander told a sheriff’s detective he shot Sandy Mazzella for “revenge” so that “his family would be hurt like my family.”

    After the sentence, Superior Court Judge Graham Shirley cut Sander off when he began addressing jurors directly. He told him that he likely would have faced only a 16 to 29-month sentence for indecent liberties with a child, and even that would have been served as probation given his lack of a prior criminal record.

    He added that once Sander reaches prison, “You, sir, are going to be housed with the most violent criminals in the state. People who are meaner and more violent than you.”

    Throughout the trial, Sander repeatedly lashed out at the elder Mazzella, once while he testified tearfully about witnessing his family’s murder. Shirley said he’d learned from weeks in court that Sander craves the spotlight, noting that he addressed much of his speech to news cameras.

    “The memory of you in the eyes of the public is going to fade,” the judge said. “Come Monday, they’re going to watch something else.”

    https://www.newsobserver.com/news/lo...229147994.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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