A man in New York is accused of stabbing his mother to death before wrapping her in a shower curtain and leaving her body in a bathtub surrounded by frozen items.
Joseph Petrella, 39, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 60-year-old Amy Hogan, as well as second-degree burglary and petit larceny, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office announced.
On Wednesday, Petrella appeared in Monroe County court, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, Rochester WHAM reported.
The sheriff’s office was called at about 3 p.m. on Sept. 13, 2026, to a home on Ewald Drive in Penfield, just east of Rochester, over a report of a burglary.
“One of the homeowners in that neighborhood called 911, reporting that a person had entered their vehicle and their home, and that they found some items missing,” Monroe County Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said at a press conference, according to local CBS.
“As the deputies were on scene investigating that burglary, they were pointed towards a resident of the neighborhood” — specifically, Petrella. A deputy questioned Petrella, and as the burglary investigation continued, the defendant “invited the deputy inside” his trailer, according to Fowler.
While inside, the deputy reportedly “observed some signs of things out of the ordinary,” which raised his concern. Petrella was detained “to allow the investigation to continue,” Fowler said. Deputies then searched the residence and found Hogan’s body.
She had been stabbed multiple times, and her remains were wrapped in a plastic shower curtain in the trailer’s bathtub, next to “a number of frozen items packed around the body in an apparent attempt to conceal the body,” per a felony complaint obtained by WHAM. Authorities believe Petrella killed her during a confrontation.
After the discovery, the scene was “quickly secured” and evidence was collected. Petrella was arrested and booked into the Monroe County Jail without bail. He is expected to return to court on Dec. 4.
Hogan had three daughters in addition to her son, and she was a grandmother. Her obituary says she was “a creative person in everything, and that creativity shone especially bright when she was creating for her family.”
“The role in life that brought her the most joy was being a Grandma,” it adds.