Jul 2, 2009 7:25 pm US/Eastern
NYC Fire Marshal's Widow Gets 25-Life For Murder
Janet Redmond-Mercereau Was Found Guilty In May Of Husband's 2007 Killing
Staten Island Fire Marshal Douglas Mercereau Was Found Shot To Death While He Slept
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Janet Redmond-Mercereau attends her husband's funeral in Dec. 2007 after he was found shot to death in his bed. She was convicted of Douglas Mercereau's murder on May 21, 2009.
CBS
The wife of a Staten Island fire marshal who was found guilty of murdering her husband in his bed while he slept was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on Thursday, the maximum possible term.
Janet Redmond-Mercereau, who was dubbed her husband's "executioner" by Staten Island District Attorney Donald Donovan, was found guilty in May for the 2007 murder of Douglas Mercereau.
"Did it ever dawn on that while you washed your clothes, the gun, the dust broom, the other items, tidied up your crime, that your little girls might have arisen, might have walked into their father's room and seen him lying dead in his own blood?" Judge Robert Collini asked Redmond-Mercereau, who looked as stone cold as the murder she committed.
In the end, that's what the sentencing decision came down to: those little girls, Rene and Melanie. That's why Collini gave her the maximum sentence, noting she didn't even express remorse.
"I don't think she could have went in that courtroom and admitted anything. I think his mind was completely made up before he walked in the courtroom," said defense attorney Mario Galucci.
Assistant District Attorney Yolanda Redich noted that the first of the three shots did not kill Redmond-Mercereau's husband.
"She didn't stop there! She shot Doug Mercereau two more times. This time in the temple from just four inches away," she said.
But the most poignant moments came when Mr. Mercereau's brother, Jim, spoke on behalf of their family and the two daughters. His voice cracked as he fought to make his statement:
"I realized that I would never have another conversation, never have another phone call with stories about the girls, and feel the happiness they gave him," he said.
When the judge gave Redmond-Mercereau the max, half the courtroom cheered. The other half, cried. Two families, now divided.
Douglas Mercereau, who was shot three times in the head while he lay sleeping in his bed. The gun used in the murder was his own.
Redmond-Mercereau's explanation for what went on that night had prosecutors scratching their heads soon after her husband's death.
"She doesn't know what happened that night," Gallucci said in March 2008.
Gallucci claimed the former school teacher was innocent.
But prosecutors said during the two hours between the murder and when 911 was called, Redmond-Mercereau took several showers, washed her clothes and washed the gun used to kill her husband.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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