Man charged with mother's murder after claiming accidental shooting denied bond

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa judge denied bond on Monday for the man accused of killing his mother at a Valrico home and claiming the shooting was an accident.

Arrest of Michael Zammiello

The backstory:

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says Michael Zammiello, 48, called HCSO's Communication Center on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 2, to report an accidental injury.

HCSO says deputies responded to the home in the 4200 block of Amber Ridge Lane in Valrico and found Shirley St. Pearre, 73, with a gunshot wound to the head.

Photo courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

St. Pearre later died at the hospital, according to investigators.

Detectives said Zammiello told them he accidentally shot his mother inside the home. He was initially charged with manslaughter, but that charge was upgraded to first-degree murder after investigators determined the shooting was intentional.

Mugshot of Michael Zammiello. Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Evidence laid out in court

Dig deeper:

During Zammiello's bond hearing on Monday, investigators said he changed his story about the shooting multiple times: first claiming it was an accident, then saying there was a struggle for the gun before the shot was fired.

Prosecutors discussed autopsy details from the Medical Examiner's Office, saying the gunshot that killed St. Pearre was fired from behind the left side of her head, with the bullet exiting through the front right of her head.

Investigators argued that it would be impossible for almost any adult to put a gun to the back of their head and fire it at that angle.

Pictured: Michael Zammiello in court on April 7, 2025.

Prosecutors also said the physical evidence from the scene did not support any of Zammiello's accounts of what happened on April 2.

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The defense countered by saying Zammiello called 911, voluntarily spoke to law enforcement and performed CPR on his mother. His attorney also questioned whether the shooting was premeditated.

The judge, though, said no scenario that Zammiello gave detectives adequately explains the type of wound that St. Pearre suffered. He then denied bond moments later.

What's next:

Zammiello will remain in jail until his trial. No trial date has been set.

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The Source: Information for this story came from a bond hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on April 7, 2025, along with previous FOX 13 News reports.

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