Queens man who killed tarot card reader because he thought she was ‘a witch’
Canzani shot Torres in her Ozone Park home in 2022 because he thought she cast a spell on his family. Facebook / Anna torres
A Queens man who shot and killed his tarot card reader because he believed she was a “witch” was sentenced Thursday to 23 years in prison.
Giuseppe Canzani, 45, admitted to fatally shooting 51-year-old Anna Torres at her Ozone Park home in May 2022 with a .45-caliber handgun. Prosecutors said he believed Torres had cast a spell on his family.
“The defendant shot Anna Torres in broad daylight in the doorway of her own home, sending pedestrians running for their lives at the sound of gunfire,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “This senseless act of violence shattered the victim’s family and shocked the Ozone Park community. Nothing can undo what happened, but we hope today’s sentencing provides Ms. Torres’ loved ones another step forward in the healing process.”
Canzani, a former New York City Department of Transportation employee from Howard Beach, shot Torres in the neck and arm before fleeing the scene in a Chevrolet Traverse. He later confessed to police at the 106th Precinct, saying, “Yeah, that’s the woman I shot. They tried to kill me.”
He added, “If I tell you what’s going on with me, you wouldn’t believe it. Not for nothing, I am supposed to be dead already… This woman, you guys will never understand. You would think I’m crazy.” Canzani told authorities that Torres had claimed “the black chief of the NYPD [wanted] to kill [his] wife,” according to court records. At the time, Jeffrey Maddrey was the NYPD chief.
Canzani underwent a court-ordered mental health evaluation and was diagnosed with depression and anxiety, though his attorney said he was unmedicated.
Torres leaves behind a son who was working for the NYPD at the time of her death. Her husband, David Aguilar, learned of the murder while watching the news at work. Aguilar described his late wife as someone who “didn’t have a bad bone in her body.”
“He smashed my world,” Aguilar said, recalling the moment he learned of her death. “She was the best wife, the best mother. I want to know why he did that. I’m lost without her.”
Canzani was arrested without incident. Authorities initially said the two knew each other “to some extent,” but the nature of their connection was far stranger than they had realized.
He pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in September. Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder sentenced him Thursday to 23 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision.
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