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September 24, 2007
Eric Gelman's Killer Sentenced
(Tried to post this from SAG at 8pm, but it seems I can only post a title and then comments from the handheld. Anyway, my point was, this is the piece that made me cry the most. As much as I have hated every bit of this story about Eric and his brutal murder, it's this--the piece including victim impact statements--that broke me all the way down. Kris, thank you for sending this along.)
From CBS.com.
Convicted Murderer Says He Didn't Kill Actor
(CBS) LOS ANGELES--A transient who insisted he was wrongly convicted was sentenced Friday to 20 years to life in prison for killing an aspiring actor who appeared twice on the TV show "Monk.""I am truly sorry for your loss," Kim McMurray, 44, said after turning to face the family of Eric Gelman in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. "I'm not the one who did it. I've never hurt nobody."
The 44-year-old defendant--who admitted four prior convictions in drug and grand theft cases between 1983 and 2003--was convicted Sept. 7 of second-degree murder and personal use of a knife for Gelman's April 17, 2005, slaying.
It was the third time McMurray was tried for the 32-year-old man's killing. Two other juries had deadlocked on the same charge.
"To let this verdict stand in our mind is a complete miscarriage of justice," McMurray's attorney, Katie Murff Trotter, told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson.
But the judge denied the defense's request for a new trial, saying he believed the evidence supported the jury's decision.
The victim's father, Richard, called his son "a good, kind, compassionate person" who would give the shirt off his back to someone who needed help.
He said he remembered crying four times as an adult before his son was killed--when each of his two children were born and when his parents died.
Since his son was slain, "I've cried every day," he said.
Lynn Gelman said her life has been "filled with immeasurable sadness and grief" and told the judge that the only thing she really wants is something no court can give: "to have my precious child back."
Gelman was attacked in an apparent robbery attempt shortly after getting off work at the Marmalade Café, where he worked as a waiter while pursuing his acting career, authorities said.
Gelman had come to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being an actor and appeared twice on the show "Monk." One episode, "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas," was dedicated in his memory, according to his parents.
"It's really so painful," his father said outside court. "He had turned the corner in his life."
Gelman's parents set up a scholarship fund in his honor at Goucher College in Baltimore, where their son graduated in 1995.
"When you lose someone, you want the world to know that he was here, that he was wonderful, and that he mattered. We give others a small helping hand so that they can fulfill their passion," his mother wrote in a statement about her son and the memorial fund.
As soon as I find more info about how to donate to that fund, I'll post a link/address. What a day!
Posted by bonnie at September 24, 2007 7:55 PM
Comments
From Kris (posted fr. SAG). This one made me cry so hard!!
And the saddest article ever......
http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_264145301.html
Convicted Murderer Says He Didn't Kill Actor
(CBS) LOS ANGELES A transient who insisted he was wrongly convicted was sentenced Friday to 20 years to life in prison for killing an aspiring actor who appeared twice on the TV show "Monk."
"I am truly sorry for your loss," Kim McMurray, 44, said after turning to face the family of Eric Gelman in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. "... I'm not the one who did it ... I've never hurt nobody."
The 44-year-old defendant -- who admitted four prior convictions in drug and grand theft cases between 1983 and 2003 -- was convicted Sept. 7 of second-degree murder and personal use of a knife for Gelman's April 17, 2005, slaying.
It was the third time McMurray was tried for the 32-year-old man's killing. Two other juries had deadlocked on the same charge.
"To let this verdict stand in our mind is a complete miscarriage of justice," McMurray's attorney, Katie Murff Trotter, told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson.
But the judge denied the defense's request for a new trial, saying he believed the evidence supported the jury's decision.
The victim's father, Richard, called his son "a good, kind, compassionate person" who would give the shirt off his back to someone who needed help.
He said he remembered crying four times as an adult before his son was killed -- when each of his two children were born and when his parents died.
Since his son was slain, "I've cried every day," he said.
Lynn Gelman said her life has been "filled with immeasurable sadness and grief" and told the judge that the only thing she really wants is something no court can give -- "to have my precious child back."
Gelman was attacked in an apparent robbery attempt shortly after getting off work at the Marmalade Cafe, where he worked as a waiter while pursuing his acting career, authorities said.
Gelman had come to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of being an actor and appeared twice on the show "Monk." One episode, "Mr. Monk Goes to Vegas," was dedicated in his memory, according to his parents.
"It's really so painful," his father said outside court. "He had turned the corner in his life."
Gelman's parents set up a scholarship fund in his honor at Goucher College in Baltimore, where their son graduated in 1995.
"When you lose someone, you want the world to know that he was here, that he was wonderful, and that he mattered ... We give others a small helping hand so that they can fulfill their passion," his mother wrote in a statement about her son and the memorial fund
Posted by: bon at September 24, 2007 8:15 PM
How to make a contribution to the Eric Gelman Memorial Scholarship Fund If you would like to make a donation to the fund at Goucher College, please see www.goucher.edu/gift or send your check (payable to Goucher College, with "Eric Gelman Memorial Scholarship Fund" in the notes area) to Goucher College Development Office, 1021 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson, MD 21204. Thanks very much for keeping Eric's memory alive!
Ann Kolakowski, Director of Regional Programs and Young Alumni Outreach, Goucher College
Posted by: Ann Kolakowski at September 27, 2007 7:58 AM