Former teacher Virginia Vertetis, twice-convicted for fatally shooting ex-boyfriend Patrick Gilhuley, was given a new sentence of 18 years in prison in state Superior Court on Wednesday in an unusual resentencing hearing that resulted from a judge's error.
Vertetis, now 62, wept at times during the nearly two hour hearing that concluded with Judge Ralph Amirata, of the Morris County vicinage, handing the Mount Olive resident a sentence two years less then she received at a prior sentencing. Under the sentencing guidelines, she will serve 85% of the sentence, or roughly 15 years and three months, and will be given credit for 2,122 days of time served in jail.
Despite pleas she acted in self-defense, Vertetis was first convicted by a jury in 2017 and she was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The decision was overturned in 2020 after an appeals court found jurors were improperly instructed on the laws governing self-defense and she was awarded a new trial, a decision that was confirmed by the state's highest court.
She pleaded guilty in September 2021 to aggravated manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years before an appeals court again overturned the sentence. The appeals panel stated in their ruling the judge had wrongly imposed the sentence on aggravating factors that were not supported by the evidence. Her sentence was vacated and she was resentenced on Wednesday by a different judge.
During the hearing Wednesday, Amirata found mitigating factors slightly outweighed aggravating, concluding that while Vertetis had the risk to reoffend and she knew that her actions caused harm to others, he weighed heavily on her lack of criminal history and the rehabilitative efforts she has undertaken while in prison.
Vertetis, who is incarcerated at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility in Union, has made a "remarkable turnaround" in her life since the 2014 shooting, according to her attorney, Susan McCoy.
Vertetis, who is under minimum security status, makes $6 a day working in the commissary, tutors other women so they can obtain their GED and works as the prison liaison, meeting with prison staff once a month to address the needs of her fellow female inmates. McCoy said she is working with therapists and taking classes to develop healthy relationships in the future.
Vertetis, Gilhuley's family speak in court
Gilhuley's mother, Marilyn, brother, Peter, and daughter, Jennifer, who was on the phone with her father during the fatal shooting on March 3, 2014, spoke Wednesday in what they hoped would be for the last time.
Peter Gilhuley called Vertetis' actions purposeful and intentional, noting that his brother's former lover "continues to manipulate the legal system" with her constant appeals to higher courts. He had several choice words for Vertetis, reiterating that he felt she was jealous, vindictive and had yet to show remorse.
The pain of losing her son has never gone away, said Marilyn Gilhuley. She sought justice for her son and asked the judge to consider the original sentence of 30 years, stating that despite what happened, the tragedy has been held over her family and will continue to do so for as long as they live.
Jennifer Lord, who has married since the trial, spoke of how, after 10 years, she continues to be revictimized by Vertetis amid years of appeals, and stressed that despite how difficult it is to reopen old wounds each time she has to reappear in court, she'd do so again to make sure "she never gets back the years of her life that my father cannot."
"When will enough be enough?" she questioned. "When will my family get justice?"
Vertetis, who was sporting a shorter, peppered white and brown hair style, wiped tears during the hearing and appeared to shake her head in agreement as Gilhuley's family spoke.
"Through interceptions and acquired knowledge, I have gained much insight about and into my offense," Vertetis said as she wiped away tears.
Vertetis spoke of how she has taken every opportunity to "think, learn and grow" while at the Morris County jail and at Edna Mahan. She reflected on the important milestones that both she, her family, Gilhuley and his family have missed due to her actions, which she said she was regretful and remorseful.
Amirata said his sentence was in no way minimizing Vertetis' actions but instead were a result of his legal obligation and what was appropriate as a result of the evidence presented.
Email: lcomstock@njherald.com; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
