Crime & Safety

Man Sentenced To Life For Stabbing Estranged Wife

Christopher Colletta was found guilty in November of the August 2010 stabbing of his estranged wife in Creve Coeur.

One month after a jury to death in a Creve Coeur hospital parking lot, Christopher Colletta was formally sentenced to life in prison without the possibiity of parole Friday.

Colletta also received a consecutive life sentence on an Armed Criminal Action charge for killing Mary Daniels in the parking garage at , formerly St. John's Mercy Medical Center, in Creve Coeur, in August 2010.

Daniels' mother Sylvia spoke before Judge Tom DePriest, just a few feet away from Colletta, prior to sentencing. She said she received a letter from Colletta asking for forgiveness, but said that would be an issue between him and God. "Mary will always be alive in our heart," she said as she finished her victim impact statement.

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Colletta also briefly addressed the court. "Words couldn't ever express how sorry I am. That's all I have to say."

DePriest called Colletta's actions "unspeakable and horrific," before imposing the mandatory sentence.

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Outside St. Louis County Court, Sylvia Daniels spoke of her daughter as "an awesome mom" of two children and said the letter from Colletta didn't make sense and had excuses, including "why he had to do it."

"I think now we can move forward and concentrate more on Mary," her brother Michael said. "We can grieve her. We can put this chapter behind us and move forward and concentrate on her children and her and remember her life, celebrate her life instead of maybe focusing so much on the way that she died."


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