A Philadelphia man was experiencing hallucinations when he killed his brother inside a casino hotel room last year, a mental health expert found.
"I don't know what happened that day," John Villante told the judge before his sentencing Thursday. "I thought my brother wasn't my brother."
Villante, 39, was sentenced to nine years in prison under a plea agreement that left the term up to the judge's discretion, and allowed the defense to argue for the first-degree crime to be sentenced as a second-degree.
Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury granted the downward departure, calling the killing a "tragic case of fratricide committed by the defendant while in the throes of his mental condition."
The brothers were alone May 28, 2019, in the room on the 11th floor of Harrah’s Atlantic City, when 32-year-old Joseph Villante was killed.
John Villante first told police that his brother must have fallen in the shower.
But a bloody room and the autopsy told a different story.
The younger Villante's injuries included blunt-force trauma, neck compressions and superficial stab wounds believed to have been made by a pen.
"I don't know what happened," John Villante said. "I don't know how to fix it. I wish I could take it back."
An expert who evaluated Villante found that at the time of the attack he believed he was "eliminating a serious threat to his and his mother's life."
The delusions were believed to be caused by a previous traumatic brain injury, although Villante chose not to move forward with a mental health defense.
Villante also admitted to using opiates at the time.
"I'm sorry, and I guess I deserve whatever punishment you give me," he told DeLury.
He must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence, or just more than 7½ years. Villante will have five years of parole supervision upon his release.
He remains in the Atlantic County Justice Facility awaiting assignment to prison.
