Bradenton man sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection to 68-year-old father's murder
A Bradenton man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison in connection to the murder of his 68-year-old father, a news release from Ed Brodsky's office stated Friday.
Matthew Briganti, 52, entered a plea of no contest on Friday to the charge of murder in the second degree for a crime committed in July 2021, according to the release.
On July 31, 2021, the 911 dispatch center received a call from Briganti who stated his father, with whom he lived with at the time, had fallen, according to the release. The probable cause affidavit added that Briganti told the 911 operator his father's body was blocking the front door of the home, so emergency personnel would need to come in through the back door.
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When Fire and Rescue, EMS and law enforcement responded to the call, they determined that Briganti's father had been dead for several hours.
The news release stated that investigators determined the death "occurred under suspicious circumstances" due to obvious trauma to the victim's head. When interviewed by detectives, Briganti said his father must have fallen, according to the release.
Briganti told law enforcement that he had come home around 6 a.m. that day and went to bed, waking at 4 p.m. to use the restroom, according to the affidavit. Briganti also told investigators he hadn't seen his father when he arrived at the residence before going to sleep.
Briganti discovered his father slumped in a seated position with his back against the door. The affidavit notes that Briganti called 911 at approximately 5:10 p.m.
Following an autopsy by the medical examiner, it was determined that the cause of death was homicide caused by blunt impact to the head and that the victim was most likely intentionally struck at least twice in the head by a heavy object.
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During the investigation, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office retained a blood splatter expert to analyze the crime scene. The expert found that the blood patterns on specific items aligned with the medical examiner's opinion that the victim had been struck at least twice in the head with a heavy object.
Assistant State Attorney Charlie Lawrence, the prosecutor on the case, praised the investigators with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, noting that the crime wouldn't have been solved without their hard work and dedication.
"This was a brutal murder that could only stem from evil and hatred," Lawrence said in a statement in the news release. "The defendant's futile attempt to make his father's murder appear as an accident served as further proof of his guilt."
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sentenced: Bradenton man receives 30-year sentence for father's death
