Killing leads to 25-to-life sentence for Rochester man
The killing was horrific — a violent beating, a 9-inch tree branch down the throat, and a posthumous sexual defiling of the body with another tree branch.
On Wednesday, County Court Judge Michael Dollinger sentenced Ronald Lagasse to the maximum sentence of 25 years to life for the September 2002 murder of Mary Simzer of Rochester. Calling the killing one of unmatched savagery and brutality, Dollinger remarked about how quickly the jury took to convict Lagasse of second-degree murder after a June trial.
"The proof of your guilt in this case was overwhelming," Dollinger said. "There's a reason the jury came back in less than 45 minutes in a two-week trial."
At Lagasse's sentencing Wednesday, District Attorney Sandra Doorley described the killing as "one of the most horrific murders that I have seen in my life."
The evidence that led to a quick jury verdict included videos of Lagasse and Simzer going into an alley where she was found dead, and a video of him leaving alone; blood-covered clothes of his that had her blood and DNA on them; and statements he made when alone in a police interview room and unaware he was still being recorded.
"I messed up on this one," he said, talking to himself of how he should have thrown his clothes away.
Simzer, 65, was found dead in an alley on Pearce Street, off North Plymouth Avenue, after suffering blunt force trauma to her head and neck. Doorley on Wednesday described her as a wife and mother who, when younger, joined her sister as they dressed as Santa and an elf and strolled through city neighborhoods entertaining children and families. Her sister attended the trial each day.
The trial jury, Doorley said, "saw (Mary) disposed of behind the building in the alley but they never really knew Mary."
Lagasse's attorney, James Vacca, on Wednesday said there was new proof of Lagasse's innocence — statements from men jailed with Lagasse that allegedly pointed to another possible killer — but Dollinger denied a request for a hearing on the statements. The proof was substantial against Lagasse, the judge said.
Lagasse maintained in a statement that he was innocent and said he deserves a new trial because of possible juror misconduct. His niece, he said, has a video of a juror speaking about the trial in a public area of the courthouse before the case was resolved.
His niece, he said, would gladly email or text the video to Dollinger. Dollinger said the process instead allowed the evidence to be used in an appeal. The allegations of juror misconduct were also raised during trial, but Dollinger was satisfied after questioning the juror and the trial continued.
Doorley and Assistant District Attorney Aliyah Fowler prosecuted the case. At sentencing, Fowler said that Lagasse has created multiple stories to escape accountability, including claims that he blacked out drunk around the time of the homicide but did not commit the crime, and that the blood-stained clothes were planted.
Lagasse is a registered level 3 sex offender, following a 1997 conviction of third-degree rape.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Ronald Lagasse gets 25-to-life sentence for killing of Mary Simzer
