BURLINGTON — A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 42½ years in prison for shooting and killing his wife in a camper in Bolton. They had traveled to Vermont to mark their one-year wedding anniversary.
Judge John Pacht handed down the jail term to 45-year-old Joseph Ferlazzo Jr. during a nearly daylong hearing Thursday in Chittenden County Superior criminal court in Burlington.
A jury convicted Ferlazzo of first-degree murder in December in the fatal shooting of his 22-year-old wife, Emily Ferlazzo, in October 2021.
First-degree murder carries a sentence of 35 years to life in prison. The sentence of more than four decades behind bars for Joseph Ferlazzo was less than what the prosecution urged — at least 50 years — and more than what the defense had sought, which was 15 years.
“Emily Ferlazzo had a beautiful, beautiful voice and I’m not just referring to her singing which we heard today,” Pacht said as he delivered the sentence, recalling a video played of her earlier in Thursday’s hearing.
“It extended to all areas of her life,” the judge said. “It was a voice that deserved to be heard. It was a voice that deserved to grow, mature, and if necessary to heal, and it deserved to do that for a long happy life.”
But, Pacht said, that didn’t happen as her life ended far too soon.
“And,” the judge said, “it was cut short at the hands of Joseph Ferlazzo.”
Pacht called it a “horrendous” crime and a case of “extreme” domestic violence.
Murder and cover-up
During the trial, the prosecution had argued that Joseph Ferlazzo shot and killed Emily Ferlazzo after an argument in their camper van, hours after they arrived in Bolton to visit with relatives and celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary.
In reaching its verdict in December, the jury rejected Joseph Ferlazzo’s testimony that he acted in self-defense.
The shooting, according to the prosecution, took place after Emily Ferlazzo told him she no longer wanted to be with him. A video statement Joseph Ferlazzo provided to police after his arrest in which he admitted to shooting and killing his wife made no mention of a self-defense claim.
Ferlazzo was arrested four days after the killing, when he was spotted by a state trooper at a St. Albans convenience store, according to charging documents in the case and trial testimony.
After the killing, according to the prosecution, he worked to cover up the crime and claimed that his wife was missing. Police later found her dismembered remains inside the camper van.
Ferlazzo, a Northfield, New Hampshire, resident at the time of his arrest, had been employed as a tattoo artist. Emily Ferlazzo had worked as a nurse.
Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George, who prosecuted the case along with Deputy State’s Attorney Sally Adams, said during the hearing Thursday that asking for the prison term of 50 years to life for Joseph Ferlazzo was not a decision made lightly.
George said she took into consideration the violent acts he committed, the many lies he told, the cover-up he tried to carry out after the killing, including the dismemberment of his wife’s body, and his attempts to shift blame for his actions to Emily Ferlazzo that were “not corroborated by any shred of evidence.”
During her sentencing argument for a much lesser prison term, Margaret Jansch, Joseph Ferlazzo’s attorney, told the judge that her client had no prior criminal record. She also called Thomas Powell, a forensic psychologist, to take the witness stand. He testified that he found Joseph Ferlazzo had displayed “elements of a personality disorder.”
‘Strong’ and ‘compassionate’
Emily Ferlazzo’s family members and friends filled the courtroom seats Thursday in the gallery behind the prosecution, many wearing red shirts emblazoned with her name and the words, “Love Shouldn’t Hurt.” Some delivered victim impact statements while others had a victim advocate read them on their behalf.
They described Emily as a person who cared for others, loved animals, enjoyed singing, dancing and all things “glittery” and “sparkly.” They also spoke of the hole her death had left in their lives, from brothers who no longer had their sister to a best friend who lost the person she confided in.
A video was played in the courtroom of Adrienne Bass, Emily Ferlazzo’s mother, speaking of her daughter, punctuated by photos and videos from Emily Ferlazzo’s life.
Bass didn’t use Joseph Ferlazzo’s name during her statement, referring to him as “the convicted,” and she talked about how he controlled and abused her daughter during their relationship.
Bass said her daughter was “strong” and “compassionate,” and loved children and dreamed of having babies of her own one day.
“The big sister, the only daughter, first granddaughter and great-granddaughter, niece and cousin, a best friend – these were the labels given to Emily in her life,” Bass said of her daughter. “A mother, an auntie, a grandmother, a best friend – the labels that she was denied the day she was murdered.”
Jansch, Joseph Ferlazzo’s attorney, read in the courtroom about a half-dozen letters from people who knew her client and wrote in support of him, from his friends who knew him for several years to a past cellmate.
Ferlazzo also spoke briefly during Thursday’s hearing, appearing to read from a paper he was holding.
“This event doesn’t define me or who I am,” Ferlazzo said, adding, “I admit that my reaction was too strong and it’s haunted me every day and every night.”
He then addressed Emily Ferlazzo’s mother directly though he didn’t look at her as she sat about 20 feet away from him.
“Adrienne, I’m so incredibly sorry for what happened,” Joseph Ferlazzo said, and then continued to suggest that his actions that night were in self-defense. “The whole thing was so fast.”
As he was speaking, Emily Ferlazzo’s mother got up and walked out of the courtroom, as did several other of her family members.
Pacht, the judge, spoke directly to Joseph Ferlazzo as he closed out the hearing.
“Mr. Ferlazzo, there are things you can do good while you are incarcerated,” Pacht said to him. “Live your life and try and see where you can grow.”
His attorney said following Thursday’s hearing that an appeal was expected.
