Twist in Actor Dylan McDermott's Mother's Death

(NECN: Brian Burnell, Waterbury, Conn.) - Actor Dylan McDermott has roots in Waterbury, Conn. He grew up here, graduated from Holy Cross High School, class of '79, and has a street named after him.

But at the age of five, his life here shattered when his mother, Diane, was shot and killed in their first floor apartment on Walnut Street. That was 1967. Dylan was outside when it happened. The only other person in the apartment was his mother's boyfriend, a smalltime gangster named John Sponza.

"There were two versions of her death. One that she had picked up the gun after he was cleaning it and it went off. The second was that she had picked up the gun and committed suicide," said Chief Michael Gugliotti of the Waterbury, Conn. Police Department.

At least that's what Sponza told them. Two years ago, Dylan was in town for a fundraiser for Holy Cross. He sat down with the Chief and asked him to look into the case. When the chief did, he found there was no case file, which was suspicious, but there was an autopsy report and it was the key to solving the case.

Remember the conclusion in 1967 was accident or suicide.

"Either way she would have had to have that weapon in her hand," said Chief Michael Gugliotti.

But there was no gunpowder residue on her hands. Other evidence like the location of the wound and the size led to one conclusion: she was murdered, executed by Sponza.

Believe it or not, NECN’s Brian Burnell actually came across a neighbor who lived here at the time. His daughter went to school with Mark, who changed his name to Dylan, McDermott. Unfortunately, he's shy.

He doesn't want to go on camera but he did tell NECN’s Brian Burnell that back in '67 the police screwed up. The man said the police didn't talk to anybody in the neighborhood, didn't seal off the house for evidence and basically just accepted what John Sponza told them.

"The police failed to look at any other evidence other than what John Sponza provided them," said Chief Michael Gugliotti.

Sponza will not face a judge. He was killed in 1972: his body found in the trunk of a car in the parking lot of a Waltham, Mass. grocery store.

But at least Dylan McDermott and his sister, Robin, now know the truth they likely suspected for a long, long time.

Copyright NECNMIGR - NECN
Contact Us