Thomas Liming sentenced to 25 to life in Kyle Underhill killing

A Suffolk judge told an Islip man Monday the maximum sentence he was imposing was “truly warranted” not only for the uncommonly brutal way he killed his high school friend, but also for the cruel indifference he showed afterward.

State Supreme Court Justice Mark Cohen sent Thomas Liming, 23, to prison for 25 years to life for beating and strangling Kyle Underhill, 18, and burying him alive in a swampy grave four years ago after jamming two sticks in his mouth.

Liming was convicted of second-degree murder in November. His defense argued during the trial and Monday that he acted in self-defense. Defense attorney Joseph Corozzo of Manhattan again argued that Underhill was the initial aggressor that night and Liming did not deserve the maximum sentence.

But Cohen told Liming, “The evidence of your guilt in this case was overwhelming. The jury emphatically rejected the defense of justification.”

Cohen, a 40-year veteran of the criminal justice system, said that no matter how appropriate punishment is legally defined, this case demanded the maximum sentence.

“This was an act of savagery, vicious in its intent and devastating in its result,” Cohen said. “I have never seen such a ferocious act of violence inflicted on another person.”

Even after the attack, Cohen said Liming showed no mercy, leaving Underhill to drown in a watery hole and hindering efforts to find the body.

The sentence came after Liming spoke publicly for the first time since he killed Underhill.

“I am truly sorry,” he said evenly. “Kyle was my friend. Prior to entering the woods that night, I had no intention of hurting their son. I never intended to take their son.”

Underhill’s friends and family had none of it.

Earlier, Underhill’s mother, Aimee Catanzaro, saved some of her scorn not only for Liming, but for his family members, who declined to speak to police and hired a private investigator even before Underhill’s body was found. Liming’s father, Keith Liming, faces perjury charges for his testimony before a grand jury in the case, and Thomas’ twin sister, Elaine Liming, is charged with obstruction.

Catanzaro noted that she called the Limings when she heard her son was last seen with Thomas Liming.

“Not one of those cowards ever called me back,” she said. Since the day she found out her son was dead, she said she hasn’t slept one night without nightmares.

As her husband, Anthony Catanzaro, patted her back, she said in court her son was a friend to kids who were bullied in school or otherwise troubled.

A girlfriend of Underhill, Megyn Carney, 20, told Cohen she was one of those kids. She called him “incredibly protective” and credited him with rescuing her from problems with drugs and reconciling her with her family. “Kyle Underhill changed my entire life,” she said.

Aimee Catanzaro said she is tormented by her son’s last moments, imagining his confusion at being attacked turning into fear.

“The last thing he saw was this monster’s face,” she said, noting that Liming likely pushed the sticks into Underhill’s mouth because he “did not want to hear Kyle begging for his life.”

Anthony Catanzaro said the loss of Underhill has cast a pall on the lives and relationships of everyone who loved him.

“What Thomas Liming did to Kyle was brutal and incredibly disturbing,” he said, adding that one of the few celebrations the family can now manage is Underhill’s birthday on Jan. 2. “We celebrate his birthday by going to the cemetery and singing.”

Underhill’s father, Kelcey Stevens, said he struggled with how Liming acted afterward.

“As my son took his last breaths, you went home,” Stevens said to Liming. “No loss cuts deeper into my heart, my soul, than the loss of my son.”

He noted that his own birthday, Nov. 17, was the day after his son was killed.

“I can no longer celebrate it,” he said. “I spent that day looking for my son.”

The body wasn’t found until two days later.

Stevens said Underhill’s loss has troubled even Stevens’ young children, the victim’s half siblings, one of whom was born after the murder.

“We have been dealt a life sentence that will carry across generations,” Stevens said in a soft voice. “I know you will burn in hell for what you did to our boy.”

Corozzo said there will be an appeal.