Son sentenced to life in prison for stabbing death of mother

Anthony Bertolina

A South Toledo man who said his heroin addiction led him to fatally stab his mother was sentenced today to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Anthony Bertolina, 34, of 3158 Winston Blvd., pleaded guilty May 23 to aggravated murder for the Dec. 9 slaying of Mary Bertolina, 56, in her home.

Lucas County Common Pleas Judge Ruth Ann Franks imposed the life sentence on Bertolina, which was laid out in a plea agreement in the case.

Bertolina was arrested outside the Winston Boulevard home where he had been living with his mother after police were called to check on Ms. Bertolina’s safety. She had not shown up for work at The Blade where she was a regional circulation manager, and co-workers had been unable to reach her that morning.

Bertolina, who told the court at his plea hearing that his heroin addiction had cost him his home and his job as a paralegal, admitted that he stabbed his mother in the back of her neck as she was sitting at the kitchen table using her computer. He said he then stabbed her in the chest.