{"id":116907,"date":"2026-01-30T00:54:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116907\/"},"modified":"2026-01-30T00:54:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T00:54:07","slug":"nyc-judge-rips-into-cold-case-killer-at-sentencing-for-1994-murders-while-lowlife-whines-hell-die-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/116907\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC judge rips into cold case killer at sentencing for 1994 murders while lowlife whines he’ll die in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Manhattan judge tore into a wheelchair-bound creep<\/a> who spent nearly three decades on the lam before he was nabbed for the slayings of a Harlem mother and daughter \u2014 ripping him for \u201cnot taking any responsibility\u201d Thursday as the convicted killer whined he\u2019ll die in prison.<\/p>\n

Ailing ex-con Larry Atkinson, 67, predicted he has two years to live moments before Judge Althea Drysdale sentenced him to 40 years to life behind bars for the killings of Sarah Roberts, 57, and her developmentally disabled daughter Sharon, 23, who were found strangled to death inside NYCHA\u2019s Grant Houses on Feb. 20, 1994.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod be with them in heaven,\u201d a slumping, cancer-stricken Atkinson<\/a>, said of his two victims in Manhattan Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Ailing ex-con Larry Atkinson predicted he has two years to live. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cGod be with me as well. I don\u2019t think I will get past two years,\u201d the lowlife added in a hoarse whisper after briefly apologizing for the \u201closs of lives of the two people that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the judge was not swayed by his sudden apology.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear to this court that the defendant has not taken any responsibility for his actions in this case despite the evidence of guilt,\u201d Drysdale said in a fiery speech.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time that I have heard you be somewhat remorseful and say I am so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Larry Atkinson killed Sharon Roberts, 23, who was developmentally disabled. New York Post<\/p>\n

After he was found guilty of murder in October, the cold-blooded killer turned to the jury and seethed that \u201che was going to find them and find their families,\u201d Manhattan District Attorney Megan Joy told the court.<\/p>\n

Years earlier, a home health aide who was dating Atkinson and also taking care of the elder Roberts \u2014 who suffered from emphysema \u2014 discovered the mom and daughter dead, with the mom\u2019s oxygen tube and a pair of leggings tied around Sharon\u2019s neck, prosecutors said.<\/p>\n

Police found no evidence of forced entry in the sixth-floor apartment after the aide called 911.<\/p>\n

The cold case went unsolved for nearly three decades. New York Post<\/p>\n

Sheniqua Simon said her slain family brought \u201clight and warmth\u201d into their lives. Steven Hirsch for NY Post<\/p>\n

A cassette video recorder and several hundred dollars in cash<\/a> were also stolen, according to officials.<\/p>\n

Investigators finally cracked the case in 2023, using new DNA technology that linked a cigarette butt and fingernail clippings from the crime scene to Atkinson.<\/p>\n

The mother and daughter were remembered by family as bringing \u201clight and warmth into their lives\u201d as they struggled for nearly 30 years searching for answers while living in the same housing complex where their kin were killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were vulnerable individuals,\u201d Sheniqua Simon, granddaughter of Sarah Roberts, said in a heartbreaking victim impact statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who required care and protection. Instead, their lives were taken violently and senselessly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atkinson, whose laundry list of convictions dates back to 1977, also attacked a 68-year-old woman in 2005 as she slept in her apartment \u2014 punching her and wrapping her neck with a pair of stockings before threatening her with a knife as she fought him off with a cane, according to prosecutors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Manhattan judge tore into a wheelchair-bound creep who spent nearly three decades on the lam before he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":116908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[4031,469,4234,4327,57,238,9,56,63,65,64,3209,58],"class_list":["post-116907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-cold-cases","tag-harlem","tag-judges","tag-manhattan-supreme-court","tag-metro","tag-murders","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-sentencing","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/116908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}