‘Looked her square in the eyes’: Man admits to fatal hammer attack on estranged wife while out on bond for previous assault on her

A Virginia man admitted to fatally beating his estranged wife with a hammer at her apartment while on a GPS monitor awaiting charges in a previous domestic violence attack on her.

Peter J. Lollobrigido, 52, entered a guilty plea to first-degree murder, aggravated malicious wounding, violation of a protective order, abduction by force, and assault and battery of a family member. He is accused of fatally attacking Regina Elizabeth Redman, 44, in 2021.

“The primary consideration for us was, first and foremost, community safety,” Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney for Loudoun County Nicole Wittman told reporters outside court, NBC Washington affiliate WRC reported. “This sentence achieves that, but it also balances the need of this family after three years for this case to end. They don’t have to go to court and hear the gruesome details, they don’t have to hear autopsy reports and they get to have closure.”

As Law&Crime reported, the fatal attack happened on Sept. 19, 2021.

Afterward, he called 911 to report it.

“When asked if his wife was still alive when he called 911, [Lollobrigido] stated he had no idea, then stated, ‘don’t see how she could be,'” Loudon Now reported, citing case documents.

Police said when they got to the home, Lollobrigido told them he grabbed a hammer from under a sink, kissed her, “looked her square in the eyes,” told her he loved her and hit her with the hammer, the Loudon Times-Mirror reported, citing the complaint.

He had been infuriated that a man had been living at the apartment, a detective who spoke with him said, Loudon Now reported.

“He indicated that he knew that he was going to go to jail for the rest of his life when he went there,” wrote that detective, Larry Robert Reed, the paper reported.

At the time of the fatal attack, he was out on bond on an ankle monitor and had a protective order against him stemming from an attack on her in July 2021, in which he faced charges of abduction, domestic assault and battery, and strangulation, prosecutors said in a news release.

When she died seven days following the assault, Lollobrigido’s charges were upgraded from attempted murder to murder, prosecutors said.

Redman died four days before her 45th birthday in “a senseless act of domestic violence by her husband,” her obituary said. She had previously sought support as a survivor of domestic violence during her marriage numerous times before, the obituary said.

She was described as a kind, spirited, loving mother, daughter, sister, friend, and co-worker.

“Her death has left a deep void in many hearts and she will be forever missed,” the obituary read. “Regina was loved. Truly and deeply loved.”

“We urge all who read Regina’s story to remember her, as we do, and to reflect on the circumstances that led to her tragic death. We can each play a role to prevent this from happening to anyone else. We are hoping that through awareness, other families will be helped from experiencing this type of tragedy.”

Lollobrigido faces 42 years in prison when he is set to be sentenced on Oct. 24.

Law&Crime’s Matt Naham contributed to this report.

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