February 15, 2008
Adrienne Shelly's Murderer Pleads Guilty, Now Claims He Was Trying to Rob the Actress
The construction worker who killed Adrienne Shelly in her West Village office pleaded guilty to manslaughter - and gave new details about why he killed the actress-director. Diego Pillco will receive 25 years in prison; as an illegal immigrant from Ecuador, the Post says his sentence will be "almost certainly followed by deportation."
Originally, Pillco had told the police he killed Shelly in November of 2006, he was in a "bad mood" and picked a fight with her, because she had complained about construction noise he and other workers had been making. Pillco had pleaded not guilty shortly after the murder, but, perhaps fearing a trial and murder conviction with life sentence, he now says he killed Shelly because she caught him stealing from her purse. Pillco had apparently seen Shelly in the elevator and decided to rob her; he watched her go into her apartment, leaving the door open. From the Daily News:
During the struggle, Pillco muffled Shelly's screams by covering her nose and mouth "out of despair" until she passed out.Police sources also believe he may have intended to sexually assault her."She fell to the floor, and I was very scared," Pillco whispered in Spanish. "When she fell to the floor, I saw a sheet, and I decided to choke her."
Shelly's husband discovered her body hanging from a shower curtain rod, suggesting suicide. But friends and family doubted that Shelly would kill herself with a young daughter and a film, Waitress, that had just been accepted at the Sundance Film Festival. Further police investigation revealed that she was murdered and her body had been staged to look like a suicide - they found a dusty boot print on the toilet seat - a print that matched Pillco's.
At yesterday's hearing, the prosecutor had told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Carol Berkman that Shelly's family agreed to the plea. But the judge, noticing the "grim faces" of Shelly's husband and relatives, said, "Well, I’m not going to ask whether they’re happy with this."
And Pillco said, "I just want to ask for forgiveness to the family." The Post reported one of the Shelly's brothers "broke into angry laughter" and Shelly's mother Elaine Langbaum said, "No! No!" with her fists clenched. Judge Berkman told Pillco, "I don't think you'll get that sir."
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Law and Order did an episode based on this crime. With a white killer, of course.
Is the reason that we incarcerate here and deport after the sentence because we don't trust the prison systems in other countries? Or is there a larger legal guideline about trial and incarceration having to occur in the same location?
Basically why are we paying to house and feed an illegal immigrant who committed a violent crime?
It's a real shame, really. The guy could have just raped her for a couple of hours. He didn't have to kill her, oh well.
@ comment 2:
Good question.
@ comment 3:
If you re-read what you wrote, would you find anything potentially insensitive about it?
"The guy could have just raped her for a couple of hours. He didn't have to kill her, oh well."
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huh???? really disrespectful comment, dooWOP. sometimes it's best not to say anything at all.
I like how the fact that the police called this a suicide FOR DAYS. They only did a thorough investigation because her family refused to believe that she had committed suicide. The NYPD is committed to calling homicides as suicides to make their crime figures look good IMO.
bx- dooWOP is a well known douchebag.
i just thought i'd try to take a higher road with that one.
I don't understand why the newsmedia always tries to make black people criminals when Law and Order, CSI or whatever criminal TV show clearly depict that Whites are the major criminals in this country.
"Is the reason that we incarcerate here and deport after the sentence because we don't trust the prison systems in other countries? Or is there a larger legal guideline about trial and incarceration having to occur in the same location?"
I believe it is the former. We have agreements with other countries which do allow for the incarceration to occur in the home country (one example being David Hicks).. also another international example would be those French people who unwittingly kidnapped children in Chad.
what are you gonna do ... shoot me???
Oh, sorry. wrong white bitch.
I wish some politician/presidential candidate would have the balls to use this case as an example of why illegal immigration is such a problem.
They're good workers? He was AT work. When was the last time you were at work and decided to rob and possibly rape your secretary?
"I wish some politician/presidential candidate would have the balls to use this case as an example of why illegal immigration is such a problem."
Except it doesn't work as an example. Illegal immigrants kills people, legal immigrants kill people, naturalized citizens kill people. There is no connection between citizenship status and murder.
was that guy who killed 5 students yesterday an immigrant?
Exactly, we have plenty of lunatics here already and our jails are crowded enough as it is.
if the guy who kille 5 students yesterday were an immigrant or a person of color there would be a huge uproar and a whole bunch of articles about "why XYZ's race is dangerous" remember soo cheung foo from vtech? Too bad he's just a white guy.
They should shoot him out of a canon back over the border.
doowop, maybe someone should rape you for a few hours. OH WELL!
doowop, maybe someone should rape you for a few hours. OH WELL!