A septuagenarian woman was taken into custody on Tuesday near Philadelphia, following allegations that she fatally stabbed a man using a 16-inch blade concealed in her walking cane. The accused, Renee DiPietro, is now facing charges of third-degree murder.
The incident occurred in the early hours of June 10, when the Lower Marion Township Police Department received a distress call about a stabbing at the junction of Cricket Avenue and Cricket Terrace. Upon arrival, the officers discovered a severely wounded man, identified as 31-year-old Michael Thomas Sides, who was bleeding heavily from his upper torso. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Sides succumbed to his injuries approximately an hour later.
According to an arrest affidavit, a friend of the victim, Dan Rogers, informed detectives that Sides had been unexpectedly attacked earlier that night by a mutual acquaintance, Jason DiPietro. Sides had expressed his intention to confront Jason. The fatal altercation ensued when Sides tried to prevent Jason from entering a white car. At this point, Jason’s parents, Renee and Michael DiPietro, emerged from the vehicle.
Rogers recounted seeing Renee DiPietro make a sudden move towards Sides, causing him to collapse, bleeding, with a black cane lying nearby. She then allegedly struck Sides while he was on the ground. Rogers deduced that Renee had stabbed Sides. He also reported that following the stabbing, Renee attempted to remove the car’s license plate before fleeing the scene with her husband and son in the white sedan, believed to be a Nissan.
Surveillance footage corroborated Rogers’ account, showing Renee DiPietro bending the license plate to prevent identification. Detectives visited the DiPietro residence in Philadelphia a few hours after the incident.
Michael DiPietro defended his wife’s actions, claiming it was self-defense as Sides had sought trouble. Renee DiPietro told detectives that she had received a distress call from her son earlier that night. She took her baseball bat and walking cane and, along with her husband, went to her son’s location. She claimed that a large man was preventing her son from entering a car and assaulting him. In her son’s defense, she confronted the man, who she said attacked her, leading her to stab him.
Renee DiPietro surrendered herself to the authorities on Tuesday and was granted a $50,000 bond. Her court hearing is scheduled for August 22.
In his obituary, Sides was remembered as a kind-hearted individual who loved animals and was always ready to help those in need. His family described him as a person who saw the good in everyone and enjoyed engaging in meaningful conversations. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him.