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Renee DiPietro, a 70-year-old Philadelphia resident, is charged with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and related counts, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office and state court records.
Investigators believe she stabbed 31-year-old Michael Sides to death with a hidden knife sheathed in her cane.
It started at a bar near Cricket Avenue and Cricket Terrace in Ardmore on June 10, according to the criminal complaint. DiPietro's son Jason allegedly "sucker punched" another patron, leading Sides to "seek (him) out” for revenge, detectives said.
Sides found Jason in the parking lot around 1:30 a.m., while his parents Renee and Michael were picking him up, authorities continued. According to video evidence reviewed by investigators, an unarmed Sides stopped Jason from getting in his parents' car by "engag(ing) him in a physical altercation."
"The video then depicts defendant Renee DiPietro exiting the front passenger side of the vehicle and approaching her son and the victim," the DA's Office said.
"She joins the fight, stabbing Sides with a long-edged weapon, later determined to be a 16-inch blade sheathed in a cane."
Sides fell to the ground while the DiPietros fled the scene without calling help or rendering aid, prosecutors claim. In surveillance footage, their license plate is seen "bent upwards," which police believe was to obscure their tag numbers.
At the scene, first responders found Sides unresponsive and bleeding badly from his upper torso, the DA said. He was taken to Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood where he died just before 2:30 a.m., according to officials.
An autopsy by the county Coroner's Office ruled his cause of death a "single stab wound to the chest" by manner of homicide.
The criminal complaint was filed Monday, Aug. 7 and DiPietro turned herself in the following day, DA Kevin Steele said. She was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 8 where bail was set at 10% of $50,000, authorities added.
DiPietro is due back in court for her preliminary hearing on Aug. 22.
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