'Unspeakable act': Munhall murderer who shot girlfriend 17 times gets life in prison

Dennis Grimm knew the judge was required to impose a life sentence on the man who murdered his teenage daughter by firing 17 shots while she babysat her stepsister in their Munhall home.

But seven years after the brutal killing, Miranda Grimm-Gilarski’s father still needed to remind Darion Abel how his pain is still raging — and how he doesn’t expect it to fade anytime soon.

“Darion didn’t just end her life. He shattered our entire family,” Grimm said Wednesday in an Allegheny County courtroom. “The void she leaves behind is immense. And it’s permanent… and the crime here made us realize how fragile life is.”

Grimm, displaying a studio portrait of Miranda, read the first in a litany of victim-impact statements occasionally punctuated with weeping so heavy that words were inaudible or with outbursts of profanity that pulled back the curtain on a family in turmoil.

Common Pleas Judge Thomas E. Flaherty, as mandated by state law, imposed the life sentence without parole Wednesday morning on Abel, now 27.

He had been found guilty in September of first-degree murder, burglary and a firearms charge in the death of Grimm-Gilarski, who was 19.

Flaherty also imposed sentences for the burglary and firearms counts.

Prosecutors said Abel shot Miranda 17 times on Nov. 17, 2018, in her Munhall home. He then drove directly to the Munhall police station and turned himself in.

Attorney Patrick Thomassey, who represents Abel, did not challenge that narrative. He maintained, however, that his client was not mentally stable at the time of the attack.

‘I should have listened’

Abel, shackled at the wrists and ankles, wore the fluorescent yellow jumpsuit Wednesday that is standard issue for prisoners at the Allegheny County Jail. His beard was full, a stark contrast to the clean-shaven face and crisp, navy-blue suit he displayed during his trial.

The courtroom was silent as Abel took the witness stand at 10:27 a.m. — the only audible sounds were from chains clanking against the shackles on his legs. He then spent nearly 10 minutes reading a detailed apology to Grimm-Gilarski, her family and others.

“You’d say, ‘Babe, you have a lot of unaddressed issues. But it’s OK. We can fix them,’” Abel said, weeping heavily and speaking barely above a whisper.

“I wasn’t man enough to face my problems,” Abel said. “I should have listened. I should have gotten the help I needed. And none of this would have happened.”

A jury deliberated for about five hours over two days earlier this fall before convicting Abel.

While Thomassey had argued during trial that his client was guilty but mentally ill, an expert witness testified Abel was able to form the intent to kill prior to the shooting.

About Miranda

Grimm opened the hearing by holding up a studio portrait of his daughter.

“First and foremost, I want everybody to see this picture,” Grimm said.

He turned and faced Abel.

“This,” he said, “is all we’ve got left.”

Miranda “loved hard” and “had an incredible ability to make people smile, even on her worst day,” family members said in statements to the court.

“Miranda loved to do her makeup and her hair, even if she didn’t have to go anywhere,” offered her stepmother, Angelique Grimm.

Miranda’s adoptive mother, Susan Walters, recalled on the stand how polite Abel was with her family.

“When I met Darion, I didn’t think he was this type of human,” she said.

Walters later paused.

“I can’t go on, I can’t go on,” she said rapidly.

Her sister took the stand to read the rest of her statement.

‘Not understandable’

Thomassey, Abel’s veteran defense attorney, put the case in context for the court.

“I’ve been practicing criminal law for 50 years,” Thomassey later told the judge. “In all my years, I’ve never seen anything this — ” he paused, “not understandable.”

Before imposing the sentence, Flaherty addressed Abel and his “unspeakable act.”

“I believe Mr. Abel did show genuine remorse here today,” Flaherty told those in the courtroom. “But nevertheless, that doesn’t take away the lifetime of pain the Grimm and Gilarski families will always have.”