Man admits fatally stabbing woman
The estranged boyfriend of a Norristown woman has admitted to her brutal stabbing death.
NORRISTOWN » The estranged boyfriend of a Norristown woman admitted to her brutal stabbing death on the DeKalb Street Bridge in Bridgeport and faces up to five decades in prison.
James Bruce Puia, 52, who at the time of the fatal knife attack had no permanent address, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court on Monday to 25 to 50 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of third-degree murder in connection with the 3 p.m. Jan. 15, 2018, stabbing death of Donna Marie Donato, of Norristown.
By pleading guilty to the charge, Puia admitted that he committed a killing with malice. In light of Puia’s age, it is likely he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
The sentence was imposed by Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case.
The third-degree murder charge usually carries a maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison, but Assistant District Attorney Kathleen McLaughlin used a so-called three strikes law to seek the 25 year minimum sentence because Puia has previous convictions for crimes of violence.
“Based on the facts of this case and his prior record we felt that it was appropriate for us to move forward on the third strike,” McLaughlin explained. “This crime was committed in broad daylight and he stabbed her numerous times. She was killed because of their former relationship so it is a crime of domestic violence.”
An autopsy determined Donato, 62, who lived in the 300 block of Cherry Street in Norristown, died as a result of multiple sharp force injuries.
Puia, who was represented by defense lawyer Carrie L. Allman, did not address the courtroom before learning his fate from the judge.
Puia’s guilty plea came just months after he suffered several legal setbacks. In July, Judge Carpenter denied Puia’s attempt to prevent a jury from hearing that he browsed Internet websites related specifically to killing another with a knife and a hammer in the days leading up to the fatal attack.
A knife and a hammer
were found in Puia’s backpack when it was searched shortly after the killing, detectives said.
In other pretrial rulings, Carpenter also found the search of Puia’s backpack was proper and therefore, a jury would have been able to learn about the knife and hammer in the backpack.
McLaughlin and co-prosecutor Roderick Fancher argued Puia planned the attack and that the evidence was admissible at trial to prove Puia’s intent and preparation.
During pretrial hearings, Allman had argued evidence of Puia’s Internet searches should not be shown to a jury, suggesting “the prejudicial impact far outweighs any probative value.”
Prosecutors said Puia also made incriminating statements to Bridgeport police officers at the scene of the crime and later to county detectives Todd Richard and Lieutenant Paul Bradbury. McLaughlin and Fancher argued Puia made “spontaneous utterances” confessing to the murder at the scene and the judge previously ruled those statements could have been heard by a jury.
During a previous hearing, Bridgeport police officers William Murphy and John Pizza testified they responded to the bridge for a report of an assault taking place and encountered Puia, who had blood on his forehead, cheeks and hands. Puia initially told police he had been in a fistfight with a man in Bridgeport.
But Pizza and Murphy learned there was a warrant for Puia for an alleged parole violation. When confronted about the warrant Puia spontaneously said he wasn’t a “good guy” and that he had just killed a woman on the bridge, according to testimony.
Police discovered Donato’s body on the northbound walkway, or eastern side, of the bridge and because of high barriers it was not visible to passing motorists.
During his statement, according to court documents, Puia told detectives he and Donato had previously dated and that since December 2017 the two had been having problems because there was a new man in Donato’s life.