Sage Curry was convicted of murdering Zaneta Dindi and Hera Dindi in Largo, Florida. (Courtroom screenshot from WTVT/YouTube)
A Florida man has been found guilty of randomly following a 78-year-old woman and her teenage granddaughter to their homes while they slept and killing them with “the sharpest kitchen knife he could find.”
Sage Curry, 22, was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the deaths of Zaneta Dindi and Hela Dindi, 17, according to online court records. It was announced. The Tampa Bay Times reported that jurors took just an hour to return a verdict rejecting his insanity defense.
“We came here from a poor country (Albania) with nothing and wanted our children to succeed. Hera didn't have that chance,” said Hera Dindi, Zaneta Dindi's daughter. 's aunt Areti Dindi told the court, the newspaper reported. “This is where we are today. This is what he did to us. He stole our future. Hera wanted to have a family of her own one day, but he I took that away from her.”
The complaint and arrest affidavit detailed the April 26, 2021, murder in Largo and the defendant's version of what happened to police. According to court documents, the defendant followed Zaneta Dindi's home, entered through her bedroom window and, for unknown reasons, grabbed her while she was sleeping with “the sharpest knife he could find,” a butcher's knife. He said he stabbed her multiple times.
The suspect told investigators that before leaving the residence, he knocked Janeta Dindi off the couch to make the incident look like an accident, according to the affidavit.
He was injured during the killing and called for help from a neighbor, which led to police being called to the scene, documents said.
The Times reported that Curry had his hands and head cut by Hera Dindi when he tried to stop the attack on his grandmother. Hera Dindi was stabbed nine times in the throat, the newspaper said.
Police found the victim dead on the floor of the home. Zaneta Dindi had multiple stab wounds to her chest, according to the affidavit.
In court video footage aired by local Fox affiliate WTVT on April 27, 2021, Curry appeared at a bail hearing with bandages on his right forearm and hand.
Lt. Scott Gore of the Largo Police Department told NBC News that the killing was “a random act with an unknown relationship between the victim and the arrestee.”
Neighbors said the women were frequently seen walking in the neighborhood.
“They probably just came here wanting a peaceful life, something like that,” Dan McDonald, whose son was a friend of one of the sons in the family, told WTVT. “I never heard of them bothering anyone. They were just trying to get on with their lives.”
Curry's mother, Angela Curry, told the Times she struggled to buy medication for her son's mental health.
“I knew he was mentally ill and I wanted him to get help,” she said.
