Investigators have not disclosed a motive in Amy Hogan’s death as her son remains jailed without bail on three charges.
PENFIELD, N.Y. — Court documents provide new details about the killing of 60-year-old Amy M. Hogan inside her Penfield home, while investigators say they are still trying to determine what led to the confrontation that ended in her death.
Hogan’s son, Joseph A. Petrella, 39, has been charged with second-degree murder, second-degree burglary and petit larceny. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Petrella was arraigned in CAP Court and ordered held in the Monroe County Jail without bail. The allegations contained in the criminal case have not been proven in court.
According to a felony complaint cited by local news reports, authorities allege Hogan suffered fatal stab wounds during a confrontation inside the mobile home she shared with Petrella on Ewald Drive. The complaint also alleges efforts were made to conceal her body before deputies discovered her while investigating an unrelated burglary report in the neighborhood.
Deputies had not gone to the community because of a homicide call. The Sheriff’s Office said they were dispatched about 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, after another resident reported that a vehicle and home had been entered and items were missing. Information gathered during that inquiry led deputies to Petrella.
Chief Deputy Michael Fowler said Petrella allowed a deputy into his residence while they discussed the burglary investigation. The deputy noticed circumstances inside that appeared unusual and raised concern. Further investigation led deputies to Hogan, and the residence was secured as a potential crime scene.
The Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit took over the homicide investigation. Evidence technicians processed the property, investigators conducted a court-authorized search, and a crime victim advocate assisted members of Hogan’s family. Authorities said Hogan had three daughters in addition to Petrella.
Fowler said investigators believed Hogan was killed sometime during the weekend, likely within roughly a day before deputies arrived in the neighborhood. Authorities have not publicly identified a motive. Fowler said investigators were still working to understand the events that preceded the killing and acknowledged that some questions may remain unanswered as the case develops.
The Sheriff’s Office has said its prior history involving Petrella was limited. Officials said he had been arrested twice in 2007 and that deputies responded to the Ewald Drive location once in 2025, though that earlier call was not described as domestic-related. Authorities have not said those earlier contacts played any role in the current charges.
The second-degree burglary and petit larceny counts are tied to the investigation that first brought deputies to Ewald Drive. That separate complaint became a key part of the sequence of events because it led investigators to question Petrella and eventually enter the residence where Hogan was found.
Petrella remained in the Monroe County Jail without bail as the homicide case continued. Investigators had not publicly announced a motive or released a final account of the events leading to Hogan’s death as of the latest available reports.
Author note: Last updated September 21, 2026.