A Broward jury found a Margate man not guilty of manslaughter Tuesday after he told them that he accidentally shot and killed his own mother while trying to defend himself from his father.
The family was celebrating Alexander DelToro’s birthday on Dec. 14, 2019, the night his mother, Cindy, died, by accident, at his hands. They had gone out for dinner and ice cream and were driving home when DelToro accidentally elbowed his father while steering out of the way of another car, according to his testimony, an event that would later lead to the fatal shooting.
Taking to the stand over the last two days of trial, DelToro, 33, had detailed both his father’s hot temper and the protectiveness he felt towards his mother, who had cancer. She had stepped in to try to stop the two from fighting that night.
On Monday, DelToro described pulling out the gun, fearing that his father had gone for his own weapon. His prescription glasses had been knocked off. DelToro said the gun fired by accident. Prosecutors argued that he intended to shoot his father, but hit his mother instead due to his impaired eyesight.
The trial, which began April 30, included testimony from Margate police officers, crime scene investigators and DelToro himself before the jury went into deliberations. DelToro’s father did not testify.
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