Friend Who Killed Carderock Climber With Claw Hammer Sentenced

BETHESDA, MD — A Virginia rock climber was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for beating a fellow climber from Arlington, VA, to death with a claw hammer near the Billy Goat Trail in Montgomery County.

David DiPaolo, 34, of Bristow, VA, pleaded guilty in February to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a friend in Carderock Recreation Area near Bethesda.

DiPaolo's prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to DiPaolo’s plea agreement, on Dec. 28, 2013, he had argued with fellow climber Geoffrey Farrar, 69, of Arlington, in the parking area at the Montgomery County park. After the fight, Farrar went to the base of the rock climbing area and DiPaolo returned to his parked vehicle.

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Soon after, DiPaolo found the victim and hit Farrar multiple times on the head with a claw hammer.

Court records say DiPaolo then fled from the park and subsequently drove to New York State, where he remained until his arrest on Jan. 8, 2014.

Following DiPaolo’s attack, other rock climbers in the area found Farrar at the base of the Billy Goat Trail; he was suffering from massive head trauma, but was still alive. Emergency personnel were called, and Farrar was airlifted to a hospital in Bethesda, where he later died of his injuries.

According to the medical examiner, Farrar suffered 15 skull fractures from the attack.

“We got into a little argument, and I don’t recall what happened,” DiPaolo told a judge, WTOP reports.

DiPaolo's attorney said the attack happened in the heat of the moment, and told the judge his client had a history of mental illness and drug abuse.