WHITESBORO, ONEIDA COUNTY -- The mother of a 13-year-old Oneida County boy charged with second degree murder says her son is being framed by police.
Joseph Giacona III was arrested eight months after his father, Joseph Giacona Jr., was found shot to death inside his Vernon home. Prosecutors in Oneida County says he'll be tried as an adult due to the "aggravated' nature of the crime.
The suspect lived with his mother, Rachelle Rustici, in Whitesboro where he was arrested. When Action News showed up Thursday night to see whether Rustici wanted to comment, she told Action News that she would have us arrested if we set foot on her property. When pressed in conversation she told us that "if the police did their job and investigated and did their job on some of the information that's been given to them, they would go further than trying to frame a 13-year-old."
Rustici also told the Associated Press that she stands by her son's innocence "100 percent" and hopes it takes a very short time for them to find out he's not the one who did it.
Giacona III was arraigned in Oneida County Court and is due back in court on Friday, October 3. The teen has denied any involvement in his father's death, according to police.
Investigators declined to discuss a possible motive for the shooting.
