70-year-old with blade hidden in cane fatally stabs man fighting her son, officials say

A 70-year-old Pennsylvania woman is accused of fatally stabbing a man with a 16-inch blade concealed in her cane, officials say.

Renee DiPietro came to her son’s defense during a fight in Ardmore on June 10, but the brawl ended in the death of 31-year-old Michael Sides, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office said in an Aug. 8 news release.

The deadly encounter began with a bar fight earlier in the evening in which DiPietro’s son “sucker punched” a friend of Sides, the release said. After the incident, Sides was overheard saying he wanted to find DiPietro’s son and confront him for the attack on his friend.

Surveillance video shows Sides kept his word, according to investigators. DiPietro’s son can be seen getting into a vehicle with his mother and father when Sides approaches and a fight breaks out between the men, the release said.

DiPietro “joins the fight, stabbing Sides with a long-edged weapon, later determined to be a 16-inch blade sheathed in a cane,” officials said.

Sides quickly collapses, but DiPietro “strikes” him one more time before getting into the vehicle with her son and driving away without rendering any aid to Sides or calling 911, according to the release.

First responders found Sides on the ground “unresponsive and hemorrhaging” at 1:30 a.m., officials said. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead about an hour later.

An autopsy determined Sides was killed by a stab wound to the chest and that he was murdered, officials said.

DiPietro turned herself in to police and is facing charges of third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and possessing an instrument of crime, the release said.

Ardmore is a suburb of Philadelphia, roughly 10 miles northwest of the city’s downtown.

This story was originally published August 10, 2023 at 10:51 AM with the headline "70-year-old with blade hidden in cane fatally stabs man fighting her son, officials say."