Suspect In Bizarre Bar Death Pleads 'Not Guilty'

Updated: 8/17/2010 6:30 a.m.

HICKSVILLE, N.Y. (CBS 2) -- A man accused of throwing a glass that shattered and killed a Long Island man in a bar, pleaded "not guilty" to manslaughter in court.

Michael DiMaria, 23, was catching up with friends this weekend inside a Boston pub near Fenway Park when two other men had a confrontation.

"We love him and we miss him," sister Jennifer DiMaria said.

"He was an innocent bystander. He was innocent. He had nothing to do with anything going on in that bar," father Joseph DiMaria added.

"The defendant then from some distance away threw a heavy beer glass," prosecutor Ian Polumbaum said.

As the defendant Hector Guardiola hid behind a door, Boston prosecutors outlined how the beer glass shattered into pieces, hurting two other bystanders and fatally finding Michael DiMaria's neck.

"That shard perforated the jugular vein and caused him to bleed to death," Polumbaum said.

It was a freak chain of events that had his family wondering what if.

"He was standing an inch, if he was standing a step to the left or a step to the right …," Joseph DiMaria said.

DiMaria's sister said she isn't leaving it to chance.

"It wasn't an accident. Someone threw something and this happened," Jennifer DiMaria said.

The tragedy cut short the life of a young man who had just begun a career on Wall Street.

Michael's dad said the mourning at the home was for the life that was, and the one that wasn't, that there is great sadness for the sweet moments the 23-year-old never got to experience, such as getting married, having kids, and making your mark.

Now memories will be what live on.

"He's my brother. They called him 'Dimo.' They loved him, and everyone is going to miss him. He was Dimo …," Jennifer said before breaking down in tears.

Guardiola has been charged with manslaughter and assault and battery. Michael DiMaria's body was undergoing an autopsy to determine the precise cause of death.