AMHERST, Va. (Court TV) — A Virginia man was convicted of murdering a grandmother and injuring her daughter in a 2019 shooting in their Amherst home.
Justin Sales appears in court during his murder trial Monday, June 23, 2025. (Court TV)
Justin Sales, 24, was found guilty of multiple charges, including first-degree murder and felonious assault, in connection with the June 25, 2019, incident. A sentencing date was not immediately set.
Doris Puleio, 92, died from her injuries after being shot multiple times. Her daughter, Trudy Goetz, 74, was also shot multiple times but survived the attack.
Sales was 18 years old when he was arrested and charged shortly after the shooting. After the charges were originally dismissed in 2021, he moved to New Hampshire, where he was convicted in 2023 in a sexual assault case. He was later reindicted for the current charges in Virginia.
In their opening statement, prosecutors said Sales had planned to rob the women in a “terrible plan.” Commonwealth Attorney Lyle Carver noted Sales’ presence near the victims’ home. “Justin Sales had no reason to ever go to Trudy and Doris’ house, yet he was there the night before the murder at 11:10 p.m. He was there the night of the murder, the very next night at 11:22 p.m., according to GPS,” Carver said.
“There are no eyewitnesses to this crime. There are no fingerprints left at the scene. You’re not going to hear anything about DNA from Mr. Sales being left at the scene. In fact, what you are going to hear is that DNA recovered from shell casings at the scene points to two other individuals,” Defense Attorney Rebecca Wetzel told the jury.
KEY MOMENTS FROM TRIAL
- The prosecution and defense delivered their opening statements
- Justin Sales’ defense insists that DNA recovered from the scene points to two other individuals.
- The three-day trial concluded when the jury found Justin Sales guilty of all charges related to the shooting death of 92-year-old Doris Puleio, and in the shooting of Puleio’s 74-year-old daughter, Trudy Goetz, who was wounded in the attempted robbery.
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