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Woman Gets Life In Boyfriend's Murder

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By TODD LESKANIC

tleskanic@tampatrib.com

Published: December 24, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Nicholas Altamuro and Sharon Sprout share at least one characteristic - they're violent criminals.

In another month, they'll share another commonality: both will be serving lengthy prison sentences.

Sprout, 51, learned her fate Tuesday when Circuit Judge Thane Covert sentenced her to life in prison for the July 2004 murder of longtime boyfriend Anthony Candiano, 64. The sentencing came about four weeks after a Pasco County jury found Sprout guilty of second-degree murder.

During the hearing, Assistant State Attorney Eva Vergos told Covert that Sprout and Altamuro had been exchanging "explicit" letters while in the Land O' Lakes Jail and are now engaged. Vergos said the letters also show Sprout's lack of remorse for the killing.

Sprout will be shipped off to a state prison, but her beau will remain in the jail awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty in October to attempted murder and armed burglary. In pleading, Altamuro admitted to stabbing former girlfriend Donnalee Johnston more than 50 times during a 2005 attack at her New Port Richey home.

Johnston survived the attack because she called 911 the minute Altamuro showed up at her house. Dispatchers immediately sent help and heard the entire ordeal over the phone.

Prosecutors have said Johnston probably would have died had she not had the presence of mind to make the call. Altamuro, 49, now faces up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced Jan. 30.

Evidence presented at Sprout's trial showed she and Altamuro had something else in common: they both harbored a simmering anger about a current or past relationship. In Sprout's case, that anger stemmed from jealousy and insecurity.

Sprout and Candiano had been together for nearly three decades but he refused to marry her and often didn't wear the wedding ring she insisted he wear. At least one witness testified that Candiano was unhappy with Sprout and planned to leave her.
Vergos argued at trial that Sprout realized the relationship was in danger. On July 10, 2004, she retrieved a .38-caliber pistol from another room and returned to the master bedroom where Candiano was sleeping.

She pointed the gun behind his right ear and pulled the trigger. A medical examiner testified that the bullet cut a path through Candiano's brain, killing him instantly. Sprout then went around the couple's Regency Park home and turned down pictures of Candiano and his family.

She waited another 30 hours before calling authorities. When investigators arrived, she told them several stories, including one in which she claimed she had been abused by Candiano. Investigators could find no evidence to support the claim.

Sprout's latest variation of the story came in the weeks between her trial and Tuesday's sentencing, Vergos said. This time, Sprout denied killing Candiano at all, saying she had too high a regard for human life to kill anyone.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (727) 815-1084.

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