Hockey dad sentenced after attack at Monroeville hotel over affair left man severely injured

Jerry McCool’s face was so badly beaten that trauma physicians initially thought he’d been shot.

He was placed in a medically induced coma, given a tracheotomy to breathe and a feeding tube to receive sustenance.

His family did not know if he would survive the April 14, 2023 assault outside the DoubleTree hotel in Monroeville.

The hockey dad, who had traveled with his son from their home in New Jersey for a tournament, had been assaulted by another father on the trip — the husband of the woman with whom McCool had an affair.

Vincent Serzan, 47, of Marlton, N.J., was found guilty in a nonjury trial in June of aggravated assault with serious bodily injury, reckless endangerment and simple assault.

On Thursday, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alexander P. Bicket ordered Serzan to serve nine to 23 months incarceration to be followed by a year of probation.

Standard range guidelines in the case suggested a sentence of three years in prison.

“I’ve thought about this case almost every day,” Bicket said.

He acknowledged that McCool had an affair with the defendant’s wife. But that was little excuse for the brutal beating, the judge said.

“I can’t imagine the chaos there would be if everyone behaved the way you did,” Bicket said. “You ruined a life forever.”

Police were called to the hotel about 11:30 p.m. that night for a report of a man lying along Mall Boulevard.

Officers found McCool with severe facial trauma, and doctors later said that every bone in his face had been broken.

According to the criminal complaint, Serzan admitted his actions to investigators, relaying to them that he snapped over the affair.

Defense attorney Casey White told the judge at trial that McCool, who was drunk, approached Serzan at the hotel bar that night badgering him to talk.

Serzan, ultimately, told McCool they could take it outside.

It was there, witnesses told police, that Serzan beat McCool so badly that his life changed forever.

During Thursday’s emotional sentencing hearing, McCool, who suffered a traumatic brain injury, did not speak, though his siblings and parents did.

“Jerry is trying, with difficulty, to be the person he was before suffering from a TBI caused by this assault,” his mother, Charmaine McCool said. “That person doesn’t exist. He is a mere shadow of his former self.”

Her son, who was 42 at the time, spent weeks in the hospital and months more in a rehab facility.

McCool undergoes physical therapy and speech therapy. He has trouble with balance.

He also lost his job as an administrator at Rowan University School of Medicine.

An avid athlete, McCool no longer can compete in triathlons or coach his three kids in sports.

He now lives with his parents.

“We just pray to God that Jerry will rehabilitate from depression, regain his mental, cognitive and physical functions and live a normal life,” his mom said. “We realize there is a possibility our prayers may not be answered.”

The judge heard letters from McCool, his wife and oldest son.

The letters paint a portrait of a vibrant, fit, athletic man, whose entire life collapsed following the beating.

Michelle McCool described seeing her former husband on the ground outside of the hotel appearing to be lifeless, the ride to the hospital and the social worker meeting her at the door.

“I heard them calling code black and saying possible gunshot wound in the face,” she wrote. “I sat in a room waiting for any news Jerry could be alive.

“I was finally met with the words, ‘Jerry is alive.’ He did in fact live.”

Then, she continued, “I am writing so you can understand what the ‘Jerry did live’ has looked like and what life has been like since that night.”

She described the struggles her children endured in not seeing their father from the day of the attack until June 2023. They wondered if he was dead.

They miss playing with him, catching outside and who he used to be.

McCool’s sister, Lindsay Smith, said her brother is no longer permitted to attend his children’s sporting events in their community.

“He has lost everything — his wife, his home, his job, his ability to participate in his kids’ sports,” she said. “It’s impossible to avoid the terrifying thoughts: Can we move past this as a family?”

“What you have taken from us we can never get back,” she told Serzan.

McCool also wrote a letter, read in court by his sister. In it, he described his injuries, noting that damage to his windpipe makes it a struggle to speak.

He can no longer enjoy golf, running and catching ball with his children, ages 13, 10 and 6.

“I am so sorry I put them through so much pain,” he said.

Serzan spoke briefly in court, telling the judge that he respects the verdict.

“Please know that’s not who I am,” he said.

Serzan, who submitted 40 letters of support to the court, described himself as a loving father of four, an active dad who has coached hundreds of kids over the last 15 years.

He called his actions that night “a bad decision that I made.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t wish for a better outcome.”

Turning toward McCool, who sat in the jury box, Serzan said, “Jerry, I am sorry. “

He also apologized to the victim’s family.

“To Mr. and Mrs. McCool, as a loving father, I understand what I caused.”

But, he continued, there was no intent. He had gone on the trip that weekend to coach kids and spend time with their hockey family.

“It breaks my heart this happened.”

Assistant District Attorney Grant Olson told the court that, during the trial, the defense attempted to make the case about McCool and the affair that he had.

He questioned whether Serzan has true remorse.

After he completes his sentence, the defendant will be able to return to his family and career.

“He’s going to be just fine,” Olson said. “For Mr. McCool, there’s an uncertainty. There’s going to be an ending for Mr. Serzan.

“Mr. McCool’s ending is unknown.”