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Actor Dylan McDermott learns his mother's death in 1967 was a murder
Published: 6/26/2012 12:14 PM
Last Modified: 6/26/2012 1:38 PM


Dylan McDermott starred as Ben Harmon in season one of "American Horror Story" on FX. The series returns in the fall with different characters. ROBERT ZUCKERMAN/FX

Dylan McDermott, star of FX’s American Horror Story,” has learned his mother’s death in 1967 was a murder and not an accident.

At the request of McDermott, who was 5 at the time, the investigation into her death was reopened one year ago by the Connecticut police, according to the Republican-American newspaper in Waterbury, Conn. The entire article is available only to paid subscribers. The newspaper had been contacted by the actor who had questions, reported to hollywoodreporter.com.

The investigation determined Diane McDermott was killed by her "gangster boyfriend John Sponza," the only witness who told police that she accidentally shot herself with a gun he had been cleaning, reported the website.

Sponza, who police said had ties to organized crime, was later charged with murder. He was shot to death in 1972, and his body was stuffed in a car trunk.

"What troubled me was that there was very little follow up other than the statement Sponza had given to police," Waterbury Police Superintendent Michael Gugliotti reportedly said in the story.

"Sponza is telling the police that night that he very rarely, if ever, had arguments, yet every we spoke to, including Dylan, who was only 5 at the time, remembered very violent, vicious arguments ...

"Dylan vividly recalls the amount of times, not only flashing the gun, but pointing it at the kid, saying, 'Shut up and get out of here.' He’s still probably traumatized by that."

Gugliotti added that the actor, who was in town for a fundraiser last year, told him and Mayor Neil M. O'Leary why he wanted the investigation reopened.

"He said, 'In order for me to survive and to get where I am today, I needed to bury that moment in my life deep within myself,'" Gugliotti said, according to the website. "He said, 'It wasn’t until recently that I’ve come to the point in my life where I'm able to begin to process all of this and make it part of (my) life.'"

The medical examiner H. Wayne Carver also reviewed the autopsy report for Diane McDermott and determined the caliber of bullet in the body did not fit the weapon that allegedly killed her and that the gun was pressed to the back of her head, reported the website.

Although the actor had no comment on the story, his sister did talk to hollywoodreporter.com.

"I'm happy to know my mother wasn't mentally ill or depressed," said Robin Herrera. "Somebody took her from us; she didn't leave us."



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Rita Sherrow grew up with TV. Yes, it was the ever-present “sister” from another techno mother. At first look, it was instant "Like." From then on, the TV had to be on in every room while she studied, elementary school through college. An Air Force brat, she attended school in three states (Oklahoma, Montana and Georgia) and two foreign countries (Germany and Bermuda) and graduated from Broken Arrow High School and the University of Tulsa with a degree in journalism/advertising. She first interned in the advertising world but, when a J-School professor (who also covered politics for the Tulsa World) offered her an internship at the newspaper, she took him up on it. The rest is history. She has served as bridal editor, senior features writer for the women’s section, food editor and is television editor of the Tulsa World. In addition to writing about TV shows and interviewing the stars for “Scene” stories, she also writes a TV column for Weekend and produces the Sunday TV World listings magazine.

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