Post by 128 on Apr 20, 2004 21:09:28 GMT -5
Judge blasts Sigsbee before sentencing
April 20, 2004
By Jim O'Hara
Staff writer
Donald Sigsbee didn't offer any admission of guilt. He had no words of sympathy for Regina Reynolds' family.
Instead, he left the talking Tuesday to his lawyer who said Sigsbee felt compassion for the family's loss but maintained he had nothing to do with the murder of Regina in 1975.
Onondaga County Court Judge Anthony Aloi sentenced Sigsbee, 68, to the maximum penalty - 25 years to life in prison.
The judge said Sigsbee's condition today, slow-moving and , might otherwise elicit sympathy.
"But I'm sentencing a 39-year-old man who committed this heinous crime," the judge said. "You are an evil, violent man."
It is "time for you to face your past" and pay for the terrible crime you committed, the judge said.
District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said outside court sentencing he believes Sigsbee killed at least two more women along the Route 20 corridor about the same time Reynolds was murdered.
Barring a jailhouse confession, however, there is no chance Sigsbee will be charged with the crimes because there is no DNA evidence in either case.
Once Sigsbee has exhausted his appeals, Fitzpatrick said he hopes he will "clear the slate" and admit to the other crimes "if there is any humanity left in him."
Reynolds' aunt, Sonya Collins, said the lesson for others from her family's experience is to never give up hope.
"I just never thought this would happen," she said of Sigsbee's sentencing.
Reynolds, a 19-year-old student at SUNY Morrisville, was last seen hitchhiking in the Morrisville area on Nov. 6, 1975. Her body ¯ with two lethal stab wounds to the abdomen and heart ¯ was found 13 days later on the shore of Otisco Lake.
Sigsbee, of Madison, was a suspect because several of his business cards were found near the body. He was not charged until last year, however, when state police obtained a sample of his DNA from a discarded soda straw at a fast-food restaurant. They compared the DNA to a semen sample recovered from Reynolds' body and saved in evidence.
A jury found Sigsbee guilty March 29 of two counts of second-degree murder.
Reynolds' mother, Barbara Smith, and one of her two brothers, Stephen, sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom with a small group of friends and other relatives as Sigsbee was sentenced Tuesday.
Assistant District Attorney Beth Van Doren, who assisted Fitzpatrick in prosecuting Sigsbee, spoke for the prosecution, reminding the court that the victim's "whole life was ahead of her" when she was brutally raped and murdered.
"When you cut the life out of Regina Reynolds, you also sucked the life out of her family and friends," she told Sigsbee. Van Doren said the case should send a message of encouragement to the families of other victims and the police officers who continue to work to solve those cases.
The prosecutor had to pause to maintain her composure at one point when she turned to address Reynolds' mother in the courtroom. She quickly moved on in her remarks to the court.
Van Doren also offered an unusual personal insight as she spoke, noting she will always recall the day Reynolds' body was found. It just happened to be her own 19th birthday, Van Doren said, recalling she was also a local college student at the time.
Van Doren said she only had to look to her own life to realize everything that Reynolds missed out on because of Sigsbee, from graduating from college to getting married and having children of her own.
"These are the blessings of life. These are the things this man took from Reggie," the prosecutor said.
Reynolds' uncle and godfather, Ted Tacea, addressed the court on behalf of the family.
"Over 28 years our family waited. Over 28 years we have many, many lost memories," Tacea said. "After 28-plus years, we stand here looking for and expecting justice."
The family's memories of the 19-year-old victim are "frozen in time," Tacea said, and nothing could provide ultimate closure.
"For over 28 years he wandered around free and I think it's been enough," Tacea said. "This sentence lays at the feet of only one person and he sits here today and that's Donald Sigsbee."
After Cambareri said Sigsbee continues to maintain his innocence as he has from the beginning, Aloi asked the defendant if he had anything to say for himself.
"I think Mr. Cambareri said it all for me," he replied.
The judge then called Sigsbee's conduct in killing Reynolds "cowardly and heartless."
"What you did not kill and could not kill was the love in so many hearts of her family and friends," the judge added. "I want you to think about Regina Reynolds every day until you die in prison."
Aloi said Sigsbee showed Reynolds no mercy in killing her and stealing her from her family and friends.
"I will show no mercy to you today," the judge said. "You truly deserve to die in prison.
"Justice was done," Collins said outside the courtroom after the sentencing. Reynolds' brother, Stephen, agreed, but said the family now has to go through a healing process all over again. "It's been hell, but it's good now," he said.
April 20, 2004
By Jim O'Hara
Staff writer
Donald Sigsbee didn't offer any admission of guilt. He had no words of sympathy for Regina Reynolds' family.
Instead, he left the talking Tuesday to his lawyer who said Sigsbee felt compassion for the family's loss but maintained he had nothing to do with the murder of Regina in 1975.
Onondaga County Court Judge Anthony Aloi sentenced Sigsbee, 68, to the maximum penalty - 25 years to life in prison.
The judge said Sigsbee's condition today, slow-moving and , might otherwise elicit sympathy.
"But I'm sentencing a 39-year-old man who committed this heinous crime," the judge said. "You are an evil, violent man."
It is "time for you to face your past" and pay for the terrible crime you committed, the judge said.
District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick said outside court sentencing he believes Sigsbee killed at least two more women along the Route 20 corridor about the same time Reynolds was murdered.
Barring a jailhouse confession, however, there is no chance Sigsbee will be charged with the crimes because there is no DNA evidence in either case.
Once Sigsbee has exhausted his appeals, Fitzpatrick said he hopes he will "clear the slate" and admit to the other crimes "if there is any humanity left in him."
Reynolds' aunt, Sonya Collins, said the lesson for others from her family's experience is to never give up hope.
"I just never thought this would happen," she said of Sigsbee's sentencing.
Reynolds, a 19-year-old student at SUNY Morrisville, was last seen hitchhiking in the Morrisville area on Nov. 6, 1975. Her body ¯ with two lethal stab wounds to the abdomen and heart ¯ was found 13 days later on the shore of Otisco Lake.
Sigsbee, of Madison, was a suspect because several of his business cards were found near the body. He was not charged until last year, however, when state police obtained a sample of his DNA from a discarded soda straw at a fast-food restaurant. They compared the DNA to a semen sample recovered from Reynolds' body and saved in evidence.
A jury found Sigsbee guilty March 29 of two counts of second-degree murder.
Reynolds' mother, Barbara Smith, and one of her two brothers, Stephen, sat quietly in the front row of the courtroom with a small group of friends and other relatives as Sigsbee was sentenced Tuesday.
Assistant District Attorney Beth Van Doren, who assisted Fitzpatrick in prosecuting Sigsbee, spoke for the prosecution, reminding the court that the victim's "whole life was ahead of her" when she was brutally raped and murdered.
"When you cut the life out of Regina Reynolds, you also sucked the life out of her family and friends," she told Sigsbee. Van Doren said the case should send a message of encouragement to the families of other victims and the police officers who continue to work to solve those cases.
The prosecutor had to pause to maintain her composure at one point when she turned to address Reynolds' mother in the courtroom. She quickly moved on in her remarks to the court.
Van Doren also offered an unusual personal insight as she spoke, noting she will always recall the day Reynolds' body was found. It just happened to be her own 19th birthday, Van Doren said, recalling she was also a local college student at the time.
Van Doren said she only had to look to her own life to realize everything that Reynolds missed out on because of Sigsbee, from graduating from college to getting married and having children of her own.
"These are the blessings of life. These are the things this man took from Reggie," the prosecutor said.
Reynolds' uncle and godfather, Ted Tacea, addressed the court on behalf of the family.
"Over 28 years our family waited. Over 28 years we have many, many lost memories," Tacea said. "After 28-plus years, we stand here looking for and expecting justice."
The family's memories of the 19-year-old victim are "frozen in time," Tacea said, and nothing could provide ultimate closure.
"For over 28 years he wandered around free and I think it's been enough," Tacea said. "This sentence lays at the feet of only one person and he sits here today and that's Donald Sigsbee."
After Cambareri said Sigsbee continues to maintain his innocence as he has from the beginning, Aloi asked the defendant if he had anything to say for himself.
"I think Mr. Cambareri said it all for me," he replied.
The judge then called Sigsbee's conduct in killing Reynolds "cowardly and heartless."
"What you did not kill and could not kill was the love in so many hearts of her family and friends," the judge added. "I want you to think about Regina Reynolds every day until you die in prison."
Aloi said Sigsbee showed Reynolds no mercy in killing her and stealing her from her family and friends.
"I will show no mercy to you today," the judge said. "You truly deserve to die in prison.
"Justice was done," Collins said outside the courtroom after the sentencing. Reynolds' brother, Stephen, agreed, but said the family now has to go through a healing process all over again. "It's been hell, but it's good now," he said.