Father of boy, 4, who shot and killed 6-year-old friend sentenced to prison!!!

TOMS RIVER —The father of a 4-year-old Toms River boy who shot and killed his 6-year-old friend was sentenced to three years in prison today for leaving the weapon unsecured and accessible to the children in the house.

A tearful Anthony Senatore, who said he is tormented by Brandon Holt's death, apologized to the family of the boy he said was like a member of his own family.

He defended himself as a responsible and upstanding man who happened to make a bad mistake by not securing the gun used to kill his neighbors' child.

"I am not a monster as some have portrayed me to be," Senatore said, reading from a letter he wrote to the judge." I have lived and worked in Ocean County all my life. I have been a God-fearing law-abiding citizen.

He said that as a sportsman and a hunter, he is no different from others pursuing their hobbies. But, he said, he made "one horrible mistake, one terrible lapse in judgment which will haunt me for the remainder of my days."

He said he cannot begin to know the suffering of Brandon's parents.

"My wife and my children are my life, which makes what happened...so very painful," Senatore said. "I cannot begin to fathom the loss of any of my children, therefore I cannot imagine the depth of pain and sorrow that Ron and Christine experience on a daily basis."

[link to www.nj.com]