Dylan McDermott: Police Conclude Mother Was Murdered in 1967 by Mobster Boyfriend

Investigation reopened last year at behest of the American Horror Story star, who presented a slew of unanswered questions

By Alexis L. Loinaz Jun 25, 2012 3:39 PMTags
Dylan McDermott, American Horror StoryRobert Zuckerman / FX

It may have been 45 years coming, but American Horror Story star Dylan McDermott can now look forward to some profound closure.

Police in Waterbury, Conn., confirm to E! News that an investigation has determined that his mother's 1967 death, which had long been ruled an accident, was actually a murder at the hands of her then boyfriend, who reportedly had mob connections.

Per the Republican-American, which reported the findings, police reopened the investigation last year at the behest of the actor, who presented a slew of unanswered questions.

His mother, Diane McDermott, died in 1967 from what was initially believed to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. At the time, an investigation concluded that she had accidentally shot herself with a gun that her boyfriend, John Sponza, had been polishing.

Waterbury police now say that the reopened investigation has rounded up enough evidence that points to Sponza as Diane's murderer. The most damning finding was that the ballistics of the gun she had reportedly been wielding did not match that of the weapon that actually killed her.

Police also were also tipped off by testimony from McDermott, which contradicted that from Sponza, who was shot to death in 1972 and found dumped in the trunk of a car parked by a Massachusetts grocery.

Police Superintendent Michael Gugliotti told the Republican-American that Sponza had always insisted that he "very rarely, if ever, had arguments, yet everyone we spoke to, including Dylan, who was only 5 at the time, remembered very violent, vicious arguments." Gugliotti also noted that McDermott recalled seeing Sponza wield a gun and point it at him.

Although McDermott, who had a lauded nine-year run on The Practice and was recently seen in American Horror Story, has remained silent, his sister, Robin Herrera, says she's relieved their family can now find some repose and peace of mind.

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