PELHAM — A man was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison Monday for a shooting that injured a bishop and bride at a New Hampshire church during a wedding ceremony.
Dale Holloway, 41, inflicted both physical and emotional trauma when he opened fire at the New England Pentecostal Ministries in October 2019, according to prosecutor Seth Dobieski.
“The wounds of Mr. Holloway’s victims might fade with time. But the mental anguish and emotional pain he caused them is never going to go away,” Dobieski said during the sentencing.
The court heard that Holloway, who did not attend the hearing, represented himself at trial.
He claimed he was mentally unstable at the time of the shooting, but the jury dismissed his insanity defense, convicting him last November.
The incident occurred just weeks after the murder of Holloway’s stepfather, a pastor at the church, by the son of the groom from the wedding.
A memorial service for the pastor had been scheduled at the church later that day, a move Holloway reportedly viewed as disrespectful.
During his trial, Holloway attempted to demonstrate his mental illness by playing rap music he had created and citing testimony from psychologists about his mental health issues.
However, experts also noted he might have exaggerated his symptoms.
Bishop Stanley Choate and bride Claire McMullen, both wounded in the attack, spoke of ongoing health issues.
McMullen lamented the end of her over 30-year career due to the injury, while Choate detailed his struggle to relearn walking and using his arms.
Holloway was convicted of multiple offenses, including attempted murder for shooting Choate, second-degree assault for injuries to Choate and McMullen, simple assault for attacking the groom, Mark Castiglione, and other charges.
He was acquitted of the attempted murder charge in McMullen’s shooting.
The tragedy is intertwined with a previous crime, as authorities confirmed that Castiglione’s son, Brandon Castiglione, was sentenced earlier this year to 42 years for the second-degree murder of Holloway’s stepfather, Luis Garcia.
