Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of violence.
Anthony Vanelli, the ex and baby daddy of former Unexpected star Rilah Ferrer, has been released to community control (aka “house arrest”) after being found guilty of “repeatedly stabbing” his mother’s boyfriend in 2023, Starcasm reports. The TLC star was sentenced to 16 months in jail, but was released on Tuesday because he had already spent 19 months behind bars by the time of the sentencing.
As fans of ‘Unexpected’ may remember, Anthony– who shares daughter Malayah with Rilah– was arrested in May 2023 and charged with felony aggravated battery after allegedly using a deadly weapon (with an enhancement for domestic violence), as well as resisting an officer without violence (a misdemeanor).
While Anthony was found guilty of the crimes in 2023, he was released on Tuesday after pleading “nolo contendere”– a plea in which a defendant in a criminal prosecution accepts conviction as though a guilty plea has been entered, but does not admit guilt– to the felony count of aggravated battery and misdemeanor count of resisting an officer without violence.
Anthony was sentenced to 16 months (or about 486 days) behind bars, but had already served 568 days so was given credit for his time served, allowing him to be released. His sentence will be followed by two years of community control (house arrest), then three years of probation, according to Starcasm. In addition to his community control, the 23-year-old former TLC star will be required to enter and complete a dual diagnosis in-patient treatment program.
According to the 2023 arrest report, Anthony was at his mom Rebecca’s home in Florida when he got into a confrontation with her boyfriend. The argument between the two men allegedly escalated after Rebecca’s boyfriend asked Anthony why he was walking around the house with a knife in his hand, to which Anthony replied, “for my protection.”
Rebecca’s boyfriend later told police that he and Anthony began to argue about Anthony having a knife, as there were children in the home at the time. As the confrontation turned into a physical altercation, Anthony allegedly stabbed his mom’s boyfriend multiple times with the knife– first in the back and then in the chest.
(FYI, the man Anthony allegedly stabbed in 2023 was not the same man Rebecca was dating while filming ‘Unexpected.’ However, that man– Markos Asmat— was arrested in 2019 and, as of May 2023, was serving time in prison for a murder charge.)
The arrest report went on to state that Anthony– who was arrested in 2019 for domestic violence against Rilah– left his mom’s house as his mom’s bleeding boyfriend staggered into the garage, where Anthony’s sisters were at the time. The girls reportedly “rendered aid” to him and when the police arrived at the home, Rebecca’s boyfriend was seen holding blankets and towels to his torso– both front and back– in an attempt to apply pressure to the stab wounds.
Rebecca later told police that her son– who was arrested in 2021 for allegedly stealing his grandma’s car and firing a gun at his former stepdad’s house– had recently been diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia.
Police eventually tracked down Anthony, who, after being caught, attempted to escape from law enforcement. After being apprehended, Anthony was taken to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Sanford, Florida.
In addition to the arrests mentioned above, Anthony was arrested in April 2021 for assault with a deadly weapon and again in February 2022 for allegedly tampering with his ankle monitor and attempting to run from a law enforcement officer.
Here’s some of Anthony’s other super-cool muggies from his previous arrests, courtesy of Starcasm!
Anthony Vanellli (ex of #Unexpected mom Rilah Ferrer) was found guilty of aggravated battery Tuesday after repeatedly stabbing his mom’s boyfriend in 2023. He was sentenced to 16 months and released to community control because of time already served. https://t.co/UB2XMZNgPU
— Starcasm (@starcasm) December 11, 2024
Rilah has yet to publicly comment on Anthony’s release.
RELATED STORY: Controversial ‘Unexpected’ Couple Jason Korpi & Kylen Smith Have Reportedly Welcomed Their Second Child
(Photos: TLC; Seminole County Sheriff’s Office)
8 Responses
Rilah’s mother was a extremely successful singer back in the 90’s under the name of Rochelle. I often wonder why that was never mentioned on the show. As for Anthony, I think he was severely abused as a child.
He’s been diagnosed with bipolar and schizophrenia. He doesn’t need jail time, he needs mental assistance and medication.
Definitely sounds like he’s a known threat to the lives and safety of the community. Odd choice to give him such a light sentence for an obvious attempted murder
Why is he being released?
Excuse me? How can they possibly justify releasing him after he tried to kill a man for seemingly no reason and has that track record of violence?
Sorry, my comments keep being posted as replies instead of comments of their own. 🙄
The article clearly says that he had done his time while waiting for sentencing. Read the articles, not just the headlines….
I think everybody realizes he got time served, what we’re concerned about is the fact that somebody with history of violence only got sentenced to 16 months in prison for attempted to stab a man to death.