The 3-year-old was physically unharmed but later experienced nightmares after watching the December 2024 attack, her mother told the court.
LANCASTER, Pa. — A 3-year-old girl stood within reach of her father when he repeatedly shot her mother, a circumstance that helped turn an attempted murder prosecution into a case that also centered on the danger and trauma imposed on a child.
The father, Ezekiel Daniel Sanderful, 33, has been sentenced to 13 1/2 to 40 years in Pennsylvania state prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. Lancaster County prosecutors said the girl watched as Sanderful shot her mother outside his East Cocalico Township residence, paused to reload and fired again. The victim survived 19 gunshot wounds. The daughter escaped physical injury, but her mother told the court the child has had nightmares and now faces growing up without her father.
The child-endangerment count was not a secondary detail added to a case focused only on the adult victim. According to the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office, the girl was within arm’s reach of Sanderful when he opened fire. She later told police that she had watched her mother being shot in the face. Her proximity exposed her to the gunfire itself, while her account also made her a young witness to the violence that prosecutors said occurred during a dispute over her custody.
Sanderful’s sentence bars him from contacting both the victim and their daughter. Judge Merrill Spahn also prohibited him from possessing a firearm and ordered him to pay more than $2,000 in restitution. The no-contact provision extends the consequences of the case beyond incarceration by preventing Sanderful from communicating with the child whose presence formed the basis of one of his convictions. Prosecutors did not announce any exception to that prohibition.
The case began with what authorities described as a deceptive arrangement involving the girl. Prosecutors said Sanderful led the mother to believe she was coming to his home to retrieve their daughter. When the woman arrived at the Reinholds Road residence on Dec. 9, 2024, he produced a handgun and fired multiple times. The district attorney’s office described the encounter as an argument over custody but said the invitation to collect the child had been used to bring the victim to the property.
The gunfire continued after the mother fell. Authorities said Sanderful reloaded the semiautomatic pistol and resumed shooting. The victim was struck in her head, torso and legs. Prosecutors later reported 19 wounds, numerous broken bones, permanent loss of sight in one eye and loss of motor function in one arm. The number and severity of the wounds supported the attempted murder charge to which Sanderful eventually pleaded guilty.
East Cocalico Township police were dispatched to the first block of Reinholds Road at about 8:10 p.m. Officers found the 32-year-old victim lying in the street and began providing aid. She was transported to a hospital and initially listed in stable condition. The child was present but physically unharmed, police said. The department’s first public statement did not identify the woman or disclose the detailed account later attributed to the girl.
Sanderful returned inside the residence as officers arrived, according to police. He eventually surrendered and was arrested without further incident. Investigators later found the pistol used in the shooting inside the house. Sanderful was taken to Lancaster County Prison and charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of children. Detective Brandon Van Ausdal filed the case.
As the prosecution developed, the child’s mother continued a recovery that could not reverse all of the damage. At the sentencing hearing, she said she had lost vision in her right eye and continued to experience permanent pain. The loss of movement in one arm affected her ability to complete basic parenting tasks. She told the court she could no longer comb her daughter’s hair, linking the physical injuries from the shooting to the daily relationship between mother and child.
The woman also described the daughter’s emotional response. She said the girl has nightmares because of what she saw. No additional clinical information about the child’s condition was released, and authorities did not disclose the details of any treatment. The district attorney’s account limited the public description to the mother’s statement at sentencing, avoiding broader conclusions about the child’s long-term health.
Despite those effects, the victim told the court she had reached several personal milestones. She had recently obtained her driver’s license and received a job promotion, prosecutors said. She also vowed to raise her daughter better without Sanderful. Her statement described progress without suggesting that the family had fully recovered. The lasting disabilities, the child’s nightmares and the no-contact order remain continuing consequences of the attack.
Surrounded by relatives, the victim directly addressed Sanderful in court. She recalled pleading for her life while wounded and hearing him reload. “You tried to violently execute me,” she said, according to the district attorney’s office. Her description brought the sequence of the attack into the sentencing hearing and showed why prosecutors emphasized that Sanderful had an opportunity to stop before firing again.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Collo told the court that it was “truly a miracle” the victim survived and was able to attend the proceeding. Spahn said Sanderful would have faced life in prison for first-degree murder had emergency treatment not saved her. The judge attributed her survival to “the grace of emergency medicine and the grace of God” before imposing the state prison term.
Sanderful apologized during the hearing and said he hoped to make amends at some point. He also said he wanted “to show other men that this isn’t the way,” according to prosecutors. His statement came after he pleaded guilty to all three offenses, including the count recognizing the danger to his daughter. The district attorney’s account did not report that he challenged the prosecution’s description of the child’s location or what she witnessed.
The minimum term means Sanderful must serve 13 1/2 years before he can be considered for parole, while the maximum term allows incarceration for as long as 40 years. Any release after the minimum is not automatic and would be subject to state parole review. The criminal judgment is now in place, and the court’s order keeps Sanderful separated from the mother and daughter as they continue dealing with injuries prosecutors described as both physical and emotional.
Author note: Last updated July 15, 2026.