Woman to serve 3 to 8 years for killing man in Carrick

A Pittsburgh woman who said she feared her partner was sentenced to at least three years in prison after pleading guilty to his killing.

Breanna Didolce, 25, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the June 6, 2024, shooting death of Jeremiah Anger, 25.

Anger called 911 that morning around 11:30 a.m. to report that he’d been shot.

When Pittsburgh officers arrived to the residence on Wynoka Street at Brownsville Road in Carrick, they found Anger lying in an entryway with gunshot wounds to his chest and arm.

He died a short time later at UPMC Mercy.

Didolce, police said, was found in the backyard of the house.

When she was initially interviewed by detectives, her story was inconsistent with the evidence, Assistant District Attorney Laurel Baker told the court.

Didolce then told police that she and Anger shared a 1-year-old child together, and that day he took her phone and broke it. She said she felt like she was in “imminent danger.”

Didolce said Anger had been both physically and verbally abusive toward her in the past.

She told officers that based on the look on Anger’s face, she was afraid for her life, so she shot him.

Didolce told police she’d hidden the gun, which had been registered in her name, under concrete blocks, and they found it there a short time later.

As part of the plea agreement, Didolce will serve three to eight years in prison. Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Edward J. Borkowski also ordered an additional four years on probation.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, Anger’s loved ones said he’d been looking forward to raising his child.

“He was a great big brother, and that all got wiped away in seconds,” said Darae Taylor.

Then addressing Didolce directly, she asked: “Do you really feel he deserved what happened to him?”

Anger’s family expressed frustration at what they considered to be an inadequate sentence.

“We know the truth,” Taylor said. “You murdered him. In my opinion, chased him down and murdered him.”

But Didolce’s defense attorneys, Mike Sullivan and Sarah Krolikowski, said in a sentencing memorandum that she was in mental health treatment, stemming from a history of intimate partner violence, including from Anger.

“The repeated violence and threats of violence which the decedent used against the defendant … led to a toxic and dangerous relationship,” the defense wrote.

In addition, they said, letters submitted on Didolce’s behalf describe Anger as “an individual that regularly used violence and threats of violence against the defendant and her children.”

According to the court filing, Anger had previous convictions for aggravated assault, burglary, terroristic threats and simple assault — all occurring during acts of domestic violence.

The defense said that Anger previously pointed a firearm at Didolce, slammed her head against a bathtub and threatened her son.

Didolce spoke briefly during the hearing and apologized to Anger’s family.

“I beat myself up every day knowing I’m responsible for the loss of my son’s father,” she said. “I’m not the monster you think I am.

“I loved him, too.”