GENESEE COUNTY, N.Y. — The family of a fallen Genesee County Sheriff’s Sergeant continues to grieve his loss, three months after he died during an altercation at Batavia Downs. 

Sgt. Thomas Sanfratello died after being attacked while responding to a dispute at the casino in March.  While the criminal case against the suspects works its way through the system, Sgt. Sanfratello’s family is trying to move forward with life without him. 

Ian and Kyla Sanfratello have very vivid memories of growing up with their dad in uniform. “When we were little, he was working the road, we would always sit by the window and wait for him to come home, we’d hear him pull in the driveway, and we’d go nuts,” Ian recalls. 

Sometimes, Sgt. Sanfratello would stop on a break, just to say hi. “Looking back on it now, he would stop and want to give us a big hug … he must have had a rough day or he had just seen something pretty bad so he would stop,” says Ian. 

As the years went by, Sgt. Sanfratello, twice named deputy of the year in Genesee County, worked his way up the ranks, which eased the worry that his kids felt about his safety. “When he worked at Darien Lake, ’cause he ran the concerts there, or when he was running the detail at Batavia Downs, that was really the only time you would have to worry because other than that, he was always doing his stuff out of the office here,” Ian tells News10NBC. 

It was during one of those details at Batavia Downs that Sgt. Sanfratello lost his life.  Investigators say 33-year-old Michael Elmore and his girlfriend 39-year-old Lyndsey Wilcox were resisting arrest after getting kicked out of the casino. According to court documents, Elmore used a necklace/metal chain to hit Sgt. Sanfratello in the face and head while punching him. At one point, Elmore is also alleged to have had Sgt. Sanfratello in a headlock.  Following the incident, Sgt. Sanfratello became unresponsive and could not be revived. 

“He was always there for everything, my prom, graduation, when I first got a job, I was working at a daycare I was really excited about,” says Kyla, “I just wish I got to tell him that I got into the school district (as a teacher’s aide) because that’s always what I wanted to do.”

The outpouring of support from law enforcement agencies, family and friends has helped Sgt. Sanfratello’s family cope. As have the stories from complete strangers whose lives were impacted by their dad. “During his wake, someone came up to me and said, ‘“’I was in a bad situation back when and he really helped me get through it’”’ and for them to show up at something like that, that definitely touched me,” Ian says.  “That’s just who he was, he never really cared about himself, it was always other people,” Kyla adds.

Moving forward isn’t easy. “We loved the Buffalo Sabres, we always went to games, we got to meet RJ (Rick Jeanneret) and Rob Ray, we have a lot of memories there,” recalls Ian. “When they hired Lindy Ruff back, I just broke down in tears because I would have been on the phone with him immediately, stuff like that is hard.”

And then, there’s the future, knowing what’s ahead in life without their dad. “Me and my little sister at our wedding, that’s going to be hard for us … Ian at his wedding, that’s going to be hard.  When we have kids it’s just going to be a day at a time, that’s all you can really do,” Kyla says.

Flower City Cornhole and the Corny Fellas Cornhole Company are joining forces to host a Cornhole tournament to support Sgt. Sanfratello’s family. The event is on Saturday, June 15 at 11 a.m. at the David McCarthy Memorial Ice Arena in Batavia.  It’s open to the public and the entry fee is $80 per team.  Sign up (registration) is strictly on the free Scoreholio App. downloadable on any smartphone. All information is on the App under the FIND A TOURNAMENT tab (look for the blue banner). 

Contact Mike Borrelli at (585) 472-3198 or Cornyfellas@yahoo.com for more information.