Man sentenced to life plus 24 years in Geistown Facebook Marketplace murder
Nov. 2—EBENSBURG, Pa. — Brutal. Vicious. Merciless. This is how a Cambria County judge described the April 2021 murder of Denise Williams as her killer, Joshua Michael Gorgone, was sentenced Tuesday to a mandatory life sentence.
Gorgone, 27, was sentenced to life in state prison without the possibility of parole by Judge Tamara Bernstein for the charge of murder in the first degree. He was also sentenced to an additional eight years and seven months to 24 years for the other charges in the case.
He was found guilty of murder in the first degree, robbery, two counts of theft, tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse and possession of drug paraphernalia by a Cambria County jury on Sept. 28.
Gorgone was accused of stabbing Williams nearly 70 times in his Geistown Borough apartment after she arranged to purchase a miniature refrigerator from him on April 5, 2021.
Nearly 30 of Williams' family and friends filled the courtroom wearing purple memorial shirts.
Family members who spoke told Gorgone of the pain that is felt by the family.
Williams' daughter, Karlee, said she woke up this morning and walked into her mother's room and told her it was her day.
"I'm sorry for the life you chose and the sentence you're about to receive," she said to her mother's killer.
Karlee Williams said that Gorgone took her son's best friend and "nunna," and that he will never understand the pain and hurt that he has caused to her son.
"I'm not quite sure who to FaceTime 10 times a day now," Williams' niece Olivia Banda said, adding that she had tried to video call her aunt that day and Gorgone had denied the calls.
She reflected that it was apparent Gorgone had a different upbringing than her and her cousins, Karlee and Justin.
"I'm not quite sure you had a strong mother figure," Olivia Banda said. "She would have given her life for them, but not in the way you took it."
Williams' nephew, Nicholas Costanzo, said that he was conflicted on the day's events.
"I'm happy with the verdict, but sad there will never be enough punishment for Josh," Costanzo said.
He added that their family was one of the strongest, but his Aunt Neesie's passing only made the family stronger.
Teresa Meek, one of Williams' four sisters, said a life sentence was nothing compared to what she felt the family should be able to do.
" We should get to stab you 68 times," Meek said.
Kimberly Banda, another of Williams' siblings, told Gorgone that her sister or any of the family would have given him anything he asked for and that he didn't need to take her life.
"She was so much more to the people who loved her," she said.
Kimberly Banda said that she hopes Gorgone sees her sister's face and can remember stabbing her for the rest of his life.
"I hope she haunts the hell out of you," she said.
Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer said that the sentencing marked the end of a journey with Williams' family.
"Today marks the end of a long journey with Denise Williams' loving family and friends, who, from the very beginning of the investigation, have shown their absolute dedication to her. They are a strong family, and we again thank them for knowing something was wrong, and contacting and working with authorities immediately," he said. "... While her friends and family miss her, we hope that the work done in this case brings them some solace and closure."
