{"id":262956,"date":"2026-06-11T09:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/262956\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T09:34:08","slug":"queens-triple-murderer-landlord-gets-life-without-parole-never-getting-out-judge-thunders-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/262956\/","title":{"rendered":"Queens triple-murderer landlord gets life without parole; \u2018Never getting out!\u2019 judge thunders"},"content":{"rendered":"

A killer landlord from Queens got life without parole Tuesday after he \u201cmercilessly slaughtered\u201d his girlfriend and two tenants<\/a> because he thought she was about to end their relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure there\u2019s a special place in hell for someone like you,\u201d Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder<\/a> told David Daniel in a fiery speech from the bench Tuesday. \u201cI have a sentence voucher from each of the people you killed that will get you in the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family members of Daniel\u2019s victims \u2014 his girlfriend, Coleen Caesar Fields, 51, and basement apartment tenants Wayne Thomas, 57, and Evette Sweeney, 55 \u2014 clapped and cheered as the judge pronounced the killer\u2019s sentence for each of their murders. Holder, who first took the bench in 2006, is retiring this year, and this sentencing is expected to be his last.<\/p>\n

The judge blasted Daniel, 56, for rejecting an offer of 33 years-to-life that prosecutors made in March 2025. \u201cThat was a gift,\u201d Holder said. \u201cThat was a gift, because I told you how much time you could possibly get in a case like this. And I know you are not a stupid man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel showed up at the 113th Precinct stationhouse the morning of Nov. 14, 2023, and told the officers there he had done a \u201chorrible thing\u201d inside his Milburn St. home in St. Albans.<\/a><\/p>\n

When cops searched the house, they found Fields facedown on a bed in a second-floor bedroom, dead from multiple stab wounds to her neck. Police also found tenants Thomas and Sweeney stabbed to death in the basement.<\/p>\n

At the time, Daniel told police he snapped because Fields had mocked him for not collecting back rent. But that motive fell apartment as the case went to trial,<\/a> and jurors got a picture of Daniel as a possessive, unfaithful boyfriend who surveilled Fields with cameras in the home they shared.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said on your probation report that things were exaggerated to make it look bad. Make it look bad? You killed three people. You stabbed a disabled woman to death in her bed while she was sleeping! What gets worse than that?\u201d the judge boomed. \u201cWhat universe do you think you can do that and then \u2014 what, go home? What are you thinking? You are never going to get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Assistant District Attorney Kenneth Zawistowski described the moment Daniel rejected the plea offer on March 24, 2025: \u201cWhen the defendant walked through those cell doors, he quickly fired his attorney, turned to me with a smile on his face, and expressed a desire to go to trial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniel took the stand in his own defense, but the jury saw through his \u201cinvented defense of amnesia,\u201d Zawistowski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince the date of the murders, this defendant has consistently portrayed himself as a victim,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Relatives of each of the victims packed the courtroom, sobbing as they called on the judge to lock Daniel away forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of them, I know, would like to spend a minute with you,\u201d Holder said.<\/p>\n

Petula Thomas, Wayne Thomas\u2019 sister, described how their mother frantically tried to reach her the day of the killing. \u201cUnbeknownst to us,\u201d she said, \u201cWayne and the others were not just killed but mercilessly slaughtered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserves nothing less than a life sentence without the possibility of parole, never again to enjoy the seasons of life,\u201d she said. \u201cThe tremendous pain, grief and devastation felt by the loss of Wayne is further compound by the fact that his death was so tragic, and came at the hands of a demonic, self-centered, insecure and cold-hearted narcissist.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, pounding a table as she spoke, \u201cLet me remind you\u2026 a greater judgement is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charlene McKenzie, Sweeney\u2019s daughter, said, \u201cNo apology will bring my mother back. No explanation will justify what you did\u2026. If you are looking for any forgiveness from me, you will not find it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of the victims\u2019 families turned their backs and left the courtroom as Daniel made a statement to the court, apologizing but never admitting to the specifics of his bloody spree, describing it as \u201ca sad sad situation\u201d and saying it \u201cshouldn\u2019t have occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe person who did it at this moment doesn\u2019t represent me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Daniel waxed spiritual. But the handful of family members who stayed in the room were unmoved by his words.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I go, everyone just try to remember that God knows best and he will take care of everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInitially, I was so hurt, so upset. And after days, years\u2026 it will take me a while to recuperate. Just leave everything to God, and God will take care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

The judge told Daniel his murderous actions destroyed lives beyond the three victims. \u201cYou\u2019ve interrupted generational growth,\u201d Holder said. \u201cYou\u2019ve altered life plans. You\u2019ve sent people into depression.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you know what?\u201d he went on. \u201cIn the end, you got the trial you asked for, and what did we learn? We learned that there\u2019s absolutely nothing in your testimony that justifies the killing of any of these three people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Queens D.A. Melinda Katz said outside the courtroom, \u201cEveryone, according to our justice system, has a right to a trial. He wanted the trial. He wanted everything to come out, and it did\u2026. He\u2019s going to now have a long time to think about the families that he affected, and the damage that he did.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A killer landlord from Queens got life without parole Tuesday after he \u201cmercilessly slaughtered\u201d his girlfriend and two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[101960,101957,101961,101959,101962,9,24,63,101963,122,124,123,6440,101958],"class_list":["post-262956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-coleen-caesar-fields","tag-david-daniel","tag-evette-sweeney","tag-kenneth-holder","tag-life-without-parole","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-petula-thomas","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-queens-supreme-court","tag-wayne-thomas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262956","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=262956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}