WELLSBURG, W.Va. — Convicted killer Rocco Zuccaro was sentenced to life in prison without parole today for the Feb. 2013 murder of his friend Jason Pratz.
Brooke County Prosecutor Joe Barki said there may never be an explanation for the McKinleyville murder.
“People always look for a logical explanation for why as to why a murder occurs,” Barki said. “There’s not always a logical reason. Sometimes people just do bad things. That’s the real reason behind this.”
In May, Zuccaro managed to escape the Sharpe Mental Hospital in Weston, before he was recaptured and taken to a facility in Columbia, S.C. Pratz said Zuccaro made no outward signs of remorse in court on Tuesday.
“He did not make any allocution today directly,” Barki explained. “His counsel made a statement to the court and then also relayed some messages the defendant had shared. But they weren’t in any way related to the case.”
Barki said that he had his suspicions as to why Zuccaro had killed his friend Pratz, but wasn’t willing to speculate and said the motive may never be known.
“I don’t know what type of beef the victim and the defendant had; at one point they were friends,” Barki said. “I just honestly believe that this is the type of crime which is occurring more and more.”
Zuccaro’s defense team previously attempted to prove he was mentally unfit to stand trial, but the judge found him competent for trial.