Mastic man sentenced in woman's death

A Mastic man, protesting to the end in a packed courtroom that he was innocent, was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years to life in prison for killing a woman who had rejected his relentless attempts to initiate a romantic relationship.

Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn imposed the maximum sentence on Guenter Wende, 44, for stabbing Laura Pizzini, 25, to death in her Mastic apartment.

"Mr. Wende violently, without cause, regret or remorse to this very day, took Laura from her family and friends," Kahn said. "Mr. Wende, you are deserving of no consideration from this court."

Her courtroom was filled with about 70 family and friends of Pizzini, many wearing T-shirts with her face on them. Wende's family also was in the courtroom.

"The brutal murder of my daughter Laura by far is the most selfish, evil act that will have a lifelong effect on my family and I," said her mother, Margaret Dovale.

She and her husband, William Dovale, said the resulting post-traumatic stress disorder after finding Pizzini's body on Oct. 16, 2009, led to a psychiatric hospitalization and has put a cloud over their lives forever.

"Guenter Wende's violent action has perverted so many normal aspects of life," said one of Pizzini's older sisters, Angela Ratchford of Pennsylvania. "It's also been very difficult to see how this has affected my mom. It is heartbreaking to see the emotional suffering she's had to endure in the loss of her youngest daughter."

Another sister, Heather Pizzini of Mastic, said she can no longer sleep for more than an hour at a time.

"Every day, I have to get up from my desk at work to lock myself in the bathroom to cry," she said.

Before he was sentenced, Wende insisted, "I never killed anybody or brought harm to anybody. I never laid a finger on anyone . . . I look forward to coming back on appeal."

Defense attorney Jason Bassett said that appeal will be filed immediately.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Biancavilla dismissed defense claims that Wende's confession was coerced and said Wende's obsessive behavior toward Pizzini in the weeks before her death also was evidence of guilt, as was an apology he wrote to Pizzini's family.