MERCER CO. Killer receives maximum sentence

The judge called the defendant a danger to society, sentencing him to 20 to 40 years in prison.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
MERCER, Pa. -- Leon Richard Grande said he doesn't know what happened to him the day he drowned his girlfriend, Deborra DeSantis, in her Sharpsville home last year.
On Thursday, during a sentencing hearing, Grande told Judge Francis Fornelli of Mercer County Common Pleas Court, "There's no way I could bring her back. I would if I could. I've never been a violent person."
Judge Fornelli ordered Grande, 61, of Shenango Township, to spend 20 to 40 years in a state prison -- the maximum sentence for a third-degree murder conviction. He also ordered him to reimburse DeSantis' family for her funeral and other costs related to her death.
About 50 people -- including members of the DeSantis and Grande families -- attended the hearing.
Clear motive: Judge Fornelli, noting Grande has no history of criminal behavior, said murderers often have no history of violence. He said Grande made his reason for killing DeSantis clear to authorities when he was arrested.
Police said Grande told them DeSantis had laughed at him and told him to go back to his wife.
"It is clear the killing was brutal," the judge said. "You took a 47-year-old woman and held her head under water, face to face, despite her struggles. There should be no mistake the person I'm sentencing this morning is extremely violent, extremely brutal, with no evidence of mental incapacity.
"You are a danger to society. This could happen again two minutes from now, a year from now. If you can act this brutal and tell me you don't know how or why you did it, you are truly a danger to society."
Grande pleaded guilty in April to killing DeSantis. In exchange for his guilty plea for third-degree murder, the Mercer County District Attorney's Office dropped a first-degree murder charge.
The crime: Police said that in May 2000, Grande held DeSantis' head under water in a bathtub at her Laurel Drive home, beat her head against a wall repeatedly and again held her head under water for several minutes until she stopped moving.
Grande's attorney, Donald Lewis, said Grande has been diagnosed as suffering from depression. He questioned whether Grande's medication had something to do with his actions that day.
Judge Fornelli dismissed the idea, however, saying there is no medical evidence to support the theory. He said the medicine was not on trial.
"We have a 47-year-old woman who was a good mom, beloved daughter, who had done nothing in her entire life to deserve what happened to her. Mr. Grande this is a tragedy for both families -- yours and hers."