Life for former LI man in Conn. killing

HARTFORD -- A Glen Head native who killed a husband and wife during a robbery at their Connecticut jewelry store in 2005 was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of release.

A Bridgeport Superior Court judge sentenced Christopher DiMeo, 29, for gunning down Tim and Kim Donnelly at their Fairfield store.

It's the second life prison sentence for DiMeo, a former Queens resident who also was convicted of killing Glen Head jewelry shop owner Thomas Renison in 2004.

DiMeo apologized to the Donnelly family during the emotional hearing.

"I'm sorry for what I've taken from you. I'm sorry for the pain in your lives," DiMeo said, according to WVIT-TV.

A 12-member jury convicted DiMeo of capital felony and murder in the Fairfield deaths, but decided against recommending execution. Capital felony carries only two possible penalties: lethal injection or a true life prison sentence.

Prosecutor Joseph Corradino had sought the death penalty and said Friday that the life prison sentence isn't adequate.

"The prisoner brutally and unjustly murdered Tim and Kim Donnelly, two living, breathing fellow human beings, to take their property so he could buy drugs and feel good," Corradino said in his sentencing remarks. "This was an evil and vicious act at the apex of a short but extreme life of evil and viciousness."

The Donnellys, both 52, were shot in their downtown Fairfield jewelry store on Feb. 2, 2005. Authorities said Kim Donnelly was shot six times and her husband was shot five times. The couple have two children, who were both in their 20s.

In the Glen Head killing, Dimeo's then-girlfriend, Nicole Pearce, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbery. DiMeo's mother, Maryann Taylor-Casey, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for driving the getaway car.

Renison, 48, who was married with two children, was shot to death at his store, J&J Jewelers, after he refused to give up his money and jewels during the robbery, prosecutors said.

Authorities say the killings were part of a robbery spree that DiMeo and Pearce went on in late 2004 and early 2005 to support their heroin addictions. Police say the crimes netted around $380,000.