An 85-year-old Phoenix man was sentenced on Wednesday to nine years in prison for fatally shooting his son-in-law during a domestic quarrel last summer.
Robert Angelo Feola received a shorter jail term than usual on July 1 after pleading guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter and domestic violence in the death of 60-year-old Karl Derek Thau.
Feola, who was first charged with murder for the July 2025 event, claimed he shot his son-in-law to protect his wife during a violent family fight.
His sentence formally began on June 26, and he was given credit for 332 days previously served.
The tragic confrontation occurred on the evening of July 28, 2025, in a north Phoenix residence near 14th Street and Topeka Drive. Officers responded to allegations of a shooting at the house about 7:45 p.m. When police came, they discovered Thau had been shot. Firefighters pronounced him deceased on the scene.
Feola was apprehended at the house. Detectives interviewed him at police headquarters before booking him into the Maricopa County Jail, where his initial bond was set at $500,000.
Feola, 86, will celebrate his birthday in a prison cell on Monday, July 6.
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