Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 5, 1995 TAG: 9508070048
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The word stilled a Roanoke Circuit courtroom Friday.
To the victims' relatives it was a travesty. To mass murderer Robert May, and his family, it was a relief that carries a heavy burden.
``I didn't know how it was going to come out,'' James May, the defendant's father, said afterward. ``There's nothing I can say to ease the pain of the victims' families, I know. Rob's mother and I will live with this for the rest of our lives. We'll always have thought, what if we had done more? We are truly sorry for all the pain my son has caused these families. ... We'll live with the shame for the rest of our lives.''
Robert May had no reaction when Judge Clifford Weckstein spared his life. It didn't appear to register until moments later when Weckstein imposed sentences on additional charges tied to the murders. May smirked at a five-year prison term he was given for using a gun to commit a murder.
As May left the courtroom, he turned to Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell and muttered, ``F--- you.''
After five murders, eight months and a weeklong bench trial, May's sentence was handed down in less than 30 seconds. Hearing it, his girlfriend, Bridgett DeCicco, collapsed in her seat, gasping.
For capital murder and related charges, May received five life terms plus 28 years. He is not eligible for parole. When Weckstein asked May if he understood the sentences, he responded, ``Perfectly.''
May pleaded no contest to capital and first-degree murder charges in the deaths of Dale Arnold, 36; Susan Hutchinson, 44; Cynthia LaPrade, 43; Daniel Mason, 47; and Carl Stroop, 42. That plea also included five counts of using a firearm and one count of possessing a handgun as a convicted felon.
May gunned down the five victims as they partied in an Old Southwest carriage house early Jan. 1.
In pleading no contest, May did not admit guilt but acknowledged that the prosecution had enough evidence to convict him. With his plea, he placed his life in Weckstein's hands.
Weckstein convicted May on Tuesday, after hearing prosecutors summarize the evidence. The sentencing phase began immediately afterward, taking up the rest of the week.
Prosecutors wanted May to be executed. But from the outset, Caldwell understood what May's no-contest plea meant.
``I had a concern that the defense judged that this was most likely a way to avoid the death penalty,'' Caldwell said Friday. ``Obviously they judged correctly.''
A key piece of evidence that Caldwell presented was a letter from May to his imprisoned stepbrother. The six-page letter detailed the thoughts of a cavalier murderer, who joked about killing again and bragged about cashing in on his crime.
Witnesses underscored that attitude. DeCicco's 14-year-old daughter testified that May called from prison shortly after the murders, threatening her life. May himself testified that he believed he was justified in killing the three men.
But defense lawyers argued that May's borderline personality disorder caused much of this: his inconsistent statements about the night of the crime, his arrogance about the five murders, his vacillating emotions.
Wednesday, as May sat in the witness chair, Public Defender Ray Leven tried to make him a sympathetic, engaging man. It didn't work. May was a stubborn witness, at times seeming to become angry at Leven for even asking the question.
``At lunch Wednesday I thought I let my client down,'' Leven said. ``I was throwing things. I was depressed. I thought I cost him the case.''
Back on the witness stand after lunch, Caldwell toyed with May, having him re-enact the murder scene before Weckstein. The 27-year-old house painter wavered under the pressure, responding sharply to Caldwell, crying as he sat down from his testimony.
But at 2:45 p.m. Leven said everything changed.
"Don [Caldwell] said to Rob in his cross-examination when they were talking about memory, `That's the way you want to believe it.' And Rob responded, `That's the way I want to believe it.' And I realized I couldn't do anything different with Rob because he's embedded, that's the borderline personality disorder.''
The disorder, coupled with his alcoholism, created a precarious way of life for May, according to court testimony. His moods would swing from bliss to depression, his memory would sometimes fade, his rage could emerge swiftly and without discretion.
For prosecutors, these factors proved his future danger. For defense lawyers it underscored his mental disorder.
Prosecutors sought to demonstrate the ``vileness'' of the crime and May's ``future danger.'' But the existence of those two elements does not mandate a death sentence.
Friday, Weckstein declined to comment about his decision, saying, ``The judge ought not to say to the press what he didn't say in the courtroom.''
After the sentence, Caldwell spoke privately to the victims' families and friends in the courtroom.
``They're under extreme emotional pressure,'' he said. ``I explained to conduct themselves with dignity. The fact that they have done that says a lot about the people who have been killed, that obviously they had a lot of great family support.''
A friend of the five victims left the courthouse bewildered.
``If anything around here deserved the death penalty, that darn sure did,'' James Baren said. ``I've lost a lot of darn good friends. ... What I have left are the memories with them, my friendship with them.''
Late Friday, after visiting his client in the Roanoke City Jail, Leven said May was just beginning to understand what happened that afternoon.
``He's concerned about the penitentiary,'' Leven said. ``Remember, he's never been. ... He wants to make a life and do something productive.''
Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed on one thing Friday - that there were no winners in the capital murder case. When May hit bottom early on New Year's Day, he took five victims and scores of others with him.
``There aren't any victories here,'' Leven said.
Keywords:
ROMUR
by CNB