Robert Chambers (killer)
Encyclopedia
Robert Emmet Chambers, Jr. (born September 25, 1966), nicknamed the "Preppie Killer", is an American who pled guilty to manslaughter
in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin. He killed her in New York's Central Park
during the early morning hours of August 26, 1986.
in Ireland to New York City. He served as an altar boy and attended a series of prep school
s on scholarship, since his mother could not afford to pay private school
tuition
. Chambers did not prosper in an environment in which many of his classmates were considerably better off than he, and had problems with poor grades and antisocial
behavior, including stealing and drug abuse
. Among the schools he attended were Saint David's School
, Choate-Rosemary Hall, The Browning School
and ultimately York Preparatory School
. Chambers also attended Wilbraham Junior High in Massachusetts
during middle school.
Chambers was accepted by Boston University
, where he completed one semester but was asked to leave because of difficulties, one involving a stolen credit card
. He subsequently committed other petty thefts and burglaries in connection with his drug and alcohol abuse
.
Unable to hold a job, he was issued a summons
for disorderly conduct
one night after leaving the Upper East Side
bar Dorrian's Red Hand
, located at 300 East 84th Street in Manhattan
. Chambers destroyed the summons as the police were leaving the scene, yelling, "You fucking cowards, you should stick to nigger
s!"
He later entered and was discharged from the Hazelden
Clinic in Minnesota
, an addiction
treatment center. He lived with his mother in an apartment in a townhouse at 11 East 90th Street.
, publicly broke up with him at Dorrian's Red Hand bar on the night of Levin's death. Kapp was heard to express jealousy regarding the presence of Jennifer Levin, Chambers' secret lover, throwing a bag of condoms at him and yelling "You can take these back because you're not using them with me!" as she ended the relationship. Chambers subsequently left the bar with Levin.
Levin's strangled, half-naked corpse, covered in bruises, bite marks, and cuts, was found by a bicyclist beneath an elm tree on a grassy knoll near Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street, behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. Her bra and shirt were pushed up to her neck, and her skirt was around her waist. The city Medical Examiner
's office said that Levin had died of "asphyxia
by strangulation," and police officials had said that there were numerous bruises on her neck, both from the strangulation and from her own fingernails as she clawed at her killer's hands. Later, Chambers watched from nearby as police officers investigated the scene. The investigators had found Levin's panties
some 50 yards (45.7 m) away.
Chambers changed his story several times: "'his cat had been declawed"; he "didn't part from Levin immediately upon leaving the bar"; "she had parted from him to purchase cigarettes". (It was later discovered that Levin did not smoke.) In the final version of his confession, he claimed that some time after he and Levin had left the bar, she had asked him for "rough sex", tied the 6'5" Chambers' hands with her panties, and hurt his genitals as she stimulated him, and that she had been killed accidentally when he freed his hands and pushed her off him.
Confronted with this explanation, the examining Assistant District Attorney
Saracco said: "I've been in this business for a while, and you're the first man I've seen rape
d in Central Park
". The rape scenario was considered to be highly unlikely, in light of the fact that Chambers was more than a foot taller than the 5'4" Levin, and at 220 lb (99.8 kg), he was almost double her weight.
Before booking, Chambers was permitted to see his father, to whom he said, "That fucking bitch, why didn't she leave me alone?"
"The Preppie Murder". Some of the New York media sources had reported the more lurid aspects of the case; for example, New York Daily News
headlines read: "How Jennifer Courted Death" and "Sex Play Got Rough". Levin's reputation was attacked, while Chambers was portrayed as a Kennedy
-esque "preppie altar boy" with a "promising future".
Archbishop
Theodore Edgar McCarrick of Newark, New Jersey
, later Archbishop of Washington, wrote a letter of support for Chambers' bail
application. He had known Chambers and his mother because Phyllis Chambers had been employed as a nurse by Cardinal Terence Cooke. McCarrick was close to the Chambers family and had served as Robert's godfather
at his baptism
.
Chambers had secured bail
through his family and the owner of the bar, Jack Dorrian (who used his $650,000 East Side townhouse to secure the $150,000 bond). He then remained free on bond for the two years of his trial, reporting regularly to family friend Monsignor
Thomas Leonard, a former teacher.
Chambers was charged with, and tried for, two counts of second-degree murder
. His defense was that Levin's death had occurred during "rough sex
". He was defended by prominent Harvard-trained lawyer Jack T. Litman, who had previously used the temporary insanity defense on behalf of Richard Herrin for the murder of Yale University
student Bonnie Garland. Prosecutor Linda Fairstein
stated: "In more than 8,000 cases of reported assault
s in the last 10 years, this is the first in which a male reported being sexually assaulted
by a female." The case popularized the strategy later colloquially termed, the "rough sex defense". The defense sought to depict Levin as a promiscuous woman who kept a "sex diary"; however, no such diary existed. Levin, instead, kept a small notebook that contained the names and phone numbers of her friends and notations of ordinary appointments. Such tactics were met with public outrage, with protesters (some calling themselves "Justice for Jennifer") demonstrating outside the courtroom.
With the jury deadlocked for nine days, a plea bargain
was struck in which Chambers pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter
in the first degree (a Class B felony
), and to one count of burglary
(a Class C felony) for his thefts in 1986. He was sentenced to serve 5 to 15 years, with the sentence for burglary being served concurrently.
-clad girls, choking himself with his hands while making loud gagging noises, and twisting a Barbie doll's head off, saying in falsetto
: "My name is…Oops! I think I killed it."
Chambers served most of his 15-year sentence at Auburn State Prison, but was later moved to Clinton Correctional Facility
due to his infractions, which cost him all his time off for good behavior. He assaulted a correctional officer and was cited repeatedly for weapons and drug infractions, some of which resulted in additional criminal charges. Ellen Levin, mother of Jennifer Levin, also pleaded before the New York parole
board to deny him parole. Nearly five years of his term were served in solitary confinement
.
In 1997, Chambers sent an untitled essay
he wrote to prison anthologist
Jeff Evans. The piece, subsequently titled "Christmas: Present," appeared in the book, Undoing Time: American Prisoners in Their Own Words. Written while Chambers was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility
in Stormville, New York, the essay is an entry from one of his journals, which he calls "a record of the meaningless hope and frightening losses of a person I don’t even know."
Chambers was released from Auburn Prison on February 14, 2003, after having served the entirety of his prison term due to his numerous infractions. His release was a media circus, with news media staking out prime sections of sidewalk opposite the prison as early as 13 hours before his 7:30 a.m. release time. The same day, a documentary was aired on Dateline
, interviewing Chambers. Chambers, continued to claim that he strangled his victim Jennifer Levin accidentally in a
desperate attempt to stop her from hurting him during rough sex in New York's Central
Park. He also denied that he had been in disciplinary trouble in prison. However, he had numerous infractions, including assaulting a member of the staff and was caught with heroin in his cell.
The owner of Dorrian's Red Hand came to a private settlement with Levin's parents on their claim that the bar had served alcohol to Chambers in excess. A wrongful death lawsuit, to which Chambers pleaded no contest
, provides that he must pay all lump sums he receives, including any income from book or movie deals, plus 10 percent of his future income (up to $25 million), to the Levin family. The family has said all the money it gets from Chambers will go to victims' rights organization
s. Ellen Levin became an activist for victims' rights
, helping to secure the passage of 13 pieces of legislation.
After leaving prison, Chambers settled in Dalton, Georgia
with his girlfriend, Shawn Kovell, who had appeared in the infamous Barbie doll video made before his sentencing. The two lived there for eight to nine months. He found a job at the Pentafab dye
factory. Chambers and Kovell moved to an East 57th Street Sutton Place, Manhattan
apartment in New York, when the death of Kovell's mother in the autumn of 2003 left it vacant. Chambers found a job at a limousine
company in Queens
, and later in a New Jersey
sports trophy
manufacturer's engraving
plant.
2004, Chambers was stopped in his Saab
for driving with a suspended drivers license in Manhattan
on Harlem River Drive
at 139th Street. A search of the car he was driving found glassine
envelopes containing an unknown substance. Chambers was charged on November 29, 2004, with possession of heroin and cocaine
, driving with a suspended license, and driving a car without a valid inspection sticker.
Chambers pleaded guilty in July 2005, and on August 29 he was sentenced to a reduced sentence of 90 days in jail and fined $200 for the license violation. The judge added 10 days to the time prosecutors and Chambers' lawyer had agreed on because Chambers was an hour late for the hearing. He faced up to a year in jail if he had been convicted after trial.
On October 22, 2007 Chambers was arrested again, this time in his own apartment, and charged with three counts of the criminal sale of a controlled substance
in the first degree, three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree and one count of resisting arrest. Kovell was also arrested on one count of the criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree. The New York Daily News
reported:
Commenting on his new arrest, former Assistant District Attorney Linda Fairstein, who had prosecuted Chambers for Levin's murder, said:
Chambers and Kovell were charged with running a cocaine operation out of the apartment. The two had previously been given notices for not paying the rent on the apartment, and the phone had been disconnected. Chambers appeared in court on December 18; according to the New York Post
, his lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, filed "new papers elaborating on his psychiatric defense". The filing claimed that Chambers had become an addict at the age of 14 and was, by 2007, using 10 to 12 bags of heroin a day. It was also reported that he also used cocaine, was smoking marijuana and taking prescription drug
s. Chambers planned to plead insanity. Prosecutors countered that Chambers was a drug dealer and had sold as much as $2,800 in heroin at a time to undercover police. Chambers faced life in prison on the drug charges.
On August 11, 2008, the Manhattan DA's
office announced that Chambers had pleaded guilty to selling drugs. On September 2, 2008, he was sentenced to 19 years on the drug charge.
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin. He killed her in New York's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
during the early morning hours of August 26, 1986.
Early life
Robert Chambers was raised by his mother, Phyllis (née Shanley), a nurse who emigrated from County LeitrimCounty Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
in Ireland to New York City. He served as an altar boy and attended a series of prep school
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
s on scholarship, since his mother could not afford to pay private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
tuition
Tuition
Tuition payments, known primarily as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in British English, Canadian English, Australian English, New Zealand English and Indian English, refers to a fee charged for educational instruction during higher education.Tuition payments are charged by...
. Chambers did not prosper in an environment in which many of his classmates were considerably better off than he, and had problems with poor grades and antisocial
Anti-social behaviour
Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...
behavior, including stealing and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. Among the schools he attended were Saint David's School
Saint David's School (New York City)
Saint David's School is a private, independent Catholic elementary school located on East 89th Street in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is a single-sex establishment that educates boys from pre-kindergarten through grade eight. The headmaster is P. David O'Halloran...
, Choate-Rosemary Hall, The Browning School
Browning School
The Browning School is a United States college preparatory school for boys founded in 1888 by John A. Browning. It offers study from Pre-Primary level through Form VI and is ranked as one of the top private schools in New York City...
and ultimately York Preparatory School
York Preparatory School
York Preparatory School is an independent university-preparatory school in the Lincoln Center area of New York City.The coeducational school provides instruction to approximately 340 students between 6th and 12th grades...
. Chambers also attended Wilbraham Junior High in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
during middle school.
Chambers was accepted by Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, where he completed one semester but was asked to leave because of difficulties, one involving a stolen credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
. He subsequently committed other petty thefts and burglaries in connection with his drug and alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse
Alcohol abuse, as described in the DSM-IV, is a psychiatric diagnosis describing the recurring use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Alcohol abuse eventually progresses to alcoholism, a condition in which an individual becomes dependent on alcoholic beverages in order to avoid...
.
Unable to hold a job, he was issued a summons
Summons
Legally, a summons is a legal document issued by a court or by an administrative agency of government for various purposes.-Judicial summons:...
for disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a criminal charge in most jurisdictions in the United States. Typically, disorderly conduct makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to "disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain areas. Many types of unruly conduct may fit the definition of disorderly conduct, as such...
one night after leaving the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
bar Dorrian's Red Hand
Dorrian's Red Hand Restaurant
Dorrian's Red Hand is a famed Irish-American bar located at 1616 Second Avenue on East 84th Street, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, New York...
, located at 300 East 84th Street in Manhattan
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Chambers destroyed the summons as the police were leaving the scene, yelling, "You fucking cowards, you should stick to nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
s!"
He later entered and was discharged from the Hazelden
Hazelden
The Hazelden Foundation is a non-profit organization based in Center City, Minnesota. Hazelden has alcohol and drug treatment facilities in Minnesota ; Newberg, Oregon; Chicago, Illinois; Naples, Florida and New York City, New York...
Clinic in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, an addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
treatment center. He lived with his mother in an apartment in a townhouse at 11 East 90th Street.
Levin's death
Chambers's girlfriend, Alex KappAlex Kapp Horner
Alex Kapp Horner is an American actress whose most notable role was as Lindsay on the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.-Personal life:...
, publicly broke up with him at Dorrian's Red Hand bar on the night of Levin's death. Kapp was heard to express jealousy regarding the presence of Jennifer Levin, Chambers' secret lover, throwing a bag of condoms at him and yelling "You can take these back because you're not using them with me!" as she ended the relationship. Chambers subsequently left the bar with Levin.
Levin's strangled, half-naked corpse, covered in bruises, bite marks, and cuts, was found by a bicyclist beneath an elm tree on a grassy knoll near Fifth Avenue and 83rd Street, behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. Her bra and shirt were pushed up to her neck, and her skirt was around her waist. The city Medical Examiner
Medical examiner
A medical examiner is a medically qualified government officer whose duty is to investigate deaths and injuries that occur under unusual or suspicious circumstances, to perform post-mortem examinations, and in some jurisdictions to initiate inquests....
's office said that Levin had died of "asphyxia
Asphyxia
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs...
by strangulation," and police officials had said that there were numerous bruises on her neck, both from the strangulation and from her own fingernails as she clawed at her killer's hands. Later, Chambers watched from nearby as police officers investigated the scene. The investigators had found Levin's panties
Panties
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
some 50 yards (45.7 m) away.
Chambers' arrest
Police were given Chambers' name by patrons at the bar, who had seen him leaving with Levin. When authorities arrived to question him at his home, he had fresh scratches on his face and arms, which he initially said were "cat scratches". He was then taken in for questioning.Chambers changed his story several times: "'his cat had been declawed"; he "didn't part from Levin immediately upon leaving the bar"; "she had parted from him to purchase cigarettes". (It was later discovered that Levin did not smoke.) In the final version of his confession, he claimed that some time after he and Levin had left the bar, she had asked him for "rough sex", tied the 6'5" Chambers' hands with her panties, and hurt his genitals as she stimulated him, and that she had been killed accidentally when he freed his hands and pushed her off him.
Confronted with this explanation, the examining Assistant District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
Saracco said: "I've been in this business for a while, and you're the first man I've seen rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d in Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
". The rape scenario was considered to be highly unlikely, in light of the fact that Chambers was more than a foot taller than the 5'4" Levin, and at 220 lb (99.8 kg), he was almost double her weight.
Before booking, Chambers was permitted to see his father, to whom he said, "That fucking bitch, why didn't she leave me alone?"
The trial, in court and in the media
The media had labeled the crimeCrime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
"The Preppie Murder". Some of the New York media sources had reported the more lurid aspects of the case; for example, New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
headlines read: "How Jennifer Courted Death" and "Sex Play Got Rough". Levin's reputation was attacked, while Chambers was portrayed as a Kennedy
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
-esque "preppie altar boy" with a "promising future".
Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Theodore Edgar McCarrick of Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
, later Archbishop of Washington, wrote a letter of support for Chambers' bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
application. He had known Chambers and his mother because Phyllis Chambers had been employed as a nurse by Cardinal Terence Cooke. McCarrick was close to the Chambers family and had served as Robert's godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
at his baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
.
Chambers had secured bail
Bail
Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...
through his family and the owner of the bar, Jack Dorrian (who used his $650,000 East Side townhouse to secure the $150,000 bond). He then remained free on bond for the two years of his trial, reporting regularly to family friend Monsignor
Monsignor
Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...
Thomas Leonard, a former teacher.
Chambers was charged with, and tried for, two counts of second-degree murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
. His defense was that Levin's death had occurred during "rough sex
Rough Sex
Rough Sex is a single by Lords Of Acid, and was released in 1992. Remixes of "Rough Sex" were done by Joey Beltram, and the CD includes "Take Control" as a B-side...
". He was defended by prominent Harvard-trained lawyer Jack T. Litman, who had previously used the temporary insanity defense on behalf of Richard Herrin for the murder of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
student Bonnie Garland. Prosecutor Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein
Linda Fairstein is an American feminist author and former prosecutor focusing on crimes of violence against women and children. She served as head of the sex crimes unit of the Manhattan District Attorney's office from 1976 until 2002 and is the author of a series of novels featuring Manhattan...
stated: "In more than 8,000 cases of reported assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
s in the last 10 years, this is the first in which a male reported being sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
by a female." The case popularized the strategy later colloquially termed, the "rough sex defense". The defense sought to depict Levin as a promiscuous woman who kept a "sex diary"; however, no such diary existed. Levin, instead, kept a small notebook that contained the names and phone numbers of her friends and notations of ordinary appointments. Such tactics were met with public outrage, with protesters (some calling themselves "Justice for Jennifer") demonstrating outside the courtroom.
With the jury deadlocked for nine days, a plea bargain
Plea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
was struck in which Chambers pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
in the first degree (a Class B felony
Felony
A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
), and to one count of burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
(a Class C felony) for his thefts in 1986. He was sentenced to serve 5 to 15 years, with the sentence for burglary being served concurrently.
Aftermath
In April 1988, the tabloid television program A Current Affair obtained and broadcast a home video showing Chambers at a party when he was free on bail. He was shown in the video playing with four lingerieLingerie
Lingerie are fashionable and possibly alluring undergarments.Lingerie usually incorporates one or more flexible, stretchy materials like Lycra, nylon , polyester, satin, lace, silk and sheer fabric which are not typically used in more functional, basic cotton undergarments.The term in the French...
-clad girls, choking himself with his hands while making loud gagging noises, and twisting a Barbie doll's head off, saying in falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
: "My name is…Oops! I think I killed it."
Chambers served most of his 15-year sentence at Auburn State Prison, but was later moved to Clinton Correctional Facility
Clinton Correctional Facility
Clinton Correctional Facility is a New York State Department of Correctional Services state prison for men located in the Village of Dannemora, New York. The prison itself is sometimes colloquially referred to as Dannemora, although its actual name is derived from its location in Clinton County,...
due to his infractions, which cost him all his time off for good behavior. He assaulted a correctional officer and was cited repeatedly for weapons and drug infractions, some of which resulted in additional criminal charges. Ellen Levin, mother of Jennifer Levin, also pleaded before the New York parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
board to deny him parole. Nearly five years of his term were served in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
.
In 1997, Chambers sent an untitled essay
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
he wrote to prison anthologist
Prison literature
Prison literature is a literary genre characterized by literature that is written while the author is confined in a location against his will, such as a prison, jail or house arrest...
Jeff Evans. The piece, subsequently titled "Christmas: Present," appeared in the book, Undoing Time: American Prisoners in Their Own Words. Written while Chambers was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility
Green Haven Correctional Facility
Green Haven Correctional Facility is a maximum security prison in New York, United States. The prison is located in the Town of Beekman in Dutchess County. The New York State Department of Correctional Services lists the address as Route 216, Stormville, NY 12582...
in Stormville, New York, the essay is an entry from one of his journals, which he calls "a record of the meaningless hope and frightening losses of a person I don’t even know."
Chambers was released from Auburn Prison on February 14, 2003, after having served the entirety of his prison term due to his numerous infractions. His release was a media circus, with news media staking out prime sections of sidewalk opposite the prison as early as 13 hours before his 7:30 a.m. release time. The same day, a documentary was aired on Dateline
Dateline
A dateline is a brief piece of text included in news articles that describes where and when the story occurred, or was written or filed, though the date is often omitted. In the case of articles reprinted from wire services, the distributing organization is also included...
, interviewing Chambers. Chambers, continued to claim that he strangled his victim Jennifer Levin accidentally in a
desperate attempt to stop her from hurting him during rough sex in New York's Central
Park. He also denied that he had been in disciplinary trouble in prison. However, he had numerous infractions, including assaulting a member of the staff and was caught with heroin in his cell.
The owner of Dorrian's Red Hand came to a private settlement with Levin's parents on their claim that the bar had served alcohol to Chambers in excess. A wrongful death lawsuit, to which Chambers pleaded no contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...
, provides that he must pay all lump sums he receives, including any income from book or movie deals, plus 10 percent of his future income (up to $25 million), to the Levin family. The family has said all the money it gets from Chambers will go to victims' rights organization
Victims' rights group
A victims' rights group is a type of advocacy group which advocates or lobbies for legal, social or political change on behalf of victims of serious crime or injustice. Members of such groups often include family members or friends of such victims....
s. Ellen Levin became an activist for victims' rights
Victims' Rights
-History:Victim movements in the U.S. grew in the 1970s. In 1982, President Ronald Reagan's Task Force on Victims of Crime released its Final Report. The report drew attention to the re-victimization of crime victims within the criminal justice system...
, helping to secure the passage of 13 pieces of legislation.
After leaving prison, Chambers settled in Dalton, Georgia
Dalton, Georgia
Dalton is a city in Whitfield County, Georgia, United States. It is the county seat of Whitfield County and the principal city of the Dalton, Georgia Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of both Murray and Whitfield counties. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 33,128...
with his girlfriend, Shawn Kovell, who had appeared in the infamous Barbie doll video made before his sentencing. The two lived there for eight to nine months. He found a job at the Pentafab dye
Dye
A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and requires a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber....
factory. Chambers and Kovell moved to an East 57th Street Sutton Place, Manhattan
Sutton Place, Manhattan
Sutton Place is the name given to one of the most affluent streets in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States, situated on the border between the Midtown and Upper East Side neighborhoods...
apartment in New York, when the death of Kovell's mother in the autumn of 2003 left it vacant. Chambers found a job at a limousine
Limousine
A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....
company in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, and later in a New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
sports trophy
Trophy
A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...
manufacturer's engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
plant.
Drug charges
Shortly before ThanksgivingThanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
2004, Chambers was stopped in his Saab
Saab
Saab AB is a Swedish aerospace and defence company, founded in 1937. From 1947 to 1990 it was the parent company of automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile, and between 1968 and 1995 the company was in a merger with commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania, known as Saab-Scania.-History:"Svenska...
for driving with a suspended drivers license in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on Harlem River Drive
Harlem River Drive
The Harlem River Drive is a north–south parkway in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs along the west bank of the Harlem River from the Triborough Bridge in East Harlem to 10th Avenue in Inwood, where the parkway continues north as Dyckman Street. The portion of the Harlem River Drive...
at 139th Street. A search of the car he was driving found glassine
Glassine
Glassine is a very thin and smooth paper that is air and water resistant. It is translucent unless dyes are added to color it or make it opaque...
envelopes containing an unknown substance. Chambers was charged on November 29, 2004, with possession of heroin and cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, driving with a suspended license, and driving a car without a valid inspection sticker.
Chambers pleaded guilty in July 2005, and on August 29 he was sentenced to a reduced sentence of 90 days in jail and fined $200 for the license violation. The judge added 10 days to the time prosecutors and Chambers' lawyer had agreed on because Chambers was an hour late for the hearing. He faced up to a year in jail if he had been convicted after trial.
On October 22, 2007 Chambers was arrested again, this time in his own apartment, and charged with three counts of the criminal sale of a controlled substance
Controlled substance
A controlled substance is generally a drug or chemical whose manufacture, possession, or use are regulated by a government. This may include illegal drugs and prescription medications ....
in the first degree, three counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree and one count of resisting arrest. Kovell was also arrested on one count of the criminal sale of a controlled substance in the second degree. The New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
reported:
Cops said Chambers, 41, struggled with officers who tried to handcuff him on the felony charges. One detective suffered a broken thumb in the fracasFracasFracas may refer to:* Fracas! Improv Festival, an improvisational theater festival* Failure Reporting, Analysis and Corrective Action Systems* Fracas , a 1980 Apple II video game by Stuart Smith...
.
Commenting on his new arrest, former Assistant District Attorney Linda Fairstein, who had prosecuted Chambers for Levin's murder, said:
Doesn't surprise me. I always believed his problem with drugs and alcohol would get him in trouble again. He's had the opportunity in prison to detoxDetoxDetoxification is the physiological or medicinal removal of toxic substances from a living organism, including, but not limited to, the human body and additionally can refer to the period of withdrawal during which an organism returns to homeostasis after long-term use of an addictive substance...
and take college courses, to straighten out his life, but that clearly is of no interest to him. He's learned nothing in the last 20 years.
Chambers and Kovell were charged with running a cocaine operation out of the apartment. The two had previously been given notices for not paying the rent on the apartment, and the phone had been disconnected. Chambers appeared in court on December 18; according to the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
, his lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, filed "new papers elaborating on his psychiatric defense". The filing claimed that Chambers had become an addict at the age of 14 and was, by 2007, using 10 to 12 bags of heroin a day. It was also reported that he also used cocaine, was smoking marijuana and taking prescription drug
Prescription drug
A prescription medication is a licensed medicine that is regulated by legislation to require a medical prescription before it can be obtained. The term is used to distinguish it from over-the-counter drugs which can be obtained without a prescription...
s. Chambers planned to plead insanity. Prosecutors countered that Chambers was a drug dealer and had sold as much as $2,800 in heroin at a time to undercover police. Chambers faced life in prison on the drug charges.
On August 11, 2008, the Manhattan DA's
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
office announced that Chambers had pleaded guilty to selling drugs. On September 2, 2008, he was sentenced to 19 years on the drug charge.
In popular culture
- The song "Eliminator Jr." from Sonic YouthSonic YouthSonic Youth is an American alternative rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Steve Shelley , and Mark Ibold .In their early career, Sonic Youth was associated with the No Wave art and music scene in New York City...
's album Daydream NationDaydream NationDaydream Nation is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth. It was released in October 1988 by Enigma Records in the United States, and by Blast First in the United Kingdom....
(1988) is about the Chambers case. - In 1989, the Chambers case was the basis of a TV movie titled The Preppie MurderThe Preppie MurderThe Preppie Murder is a TV movie starring William Baldwin as Robert Chambers and Lara Flynn Boyle as Jennifer Levin. The film aired on ABC in 1989. It was based on the events of a murder committed by Rob Chambers, nicknamed the Preppie Killer...
, starring William BaldwinWilliam BaldwinWilliam Joseph "Billy" Baldwin is an American actor, producer, and writer, known for his starring roles in such films as Flatliners , Backdraft , Sliver , Fair Game , Virus , Double Bang , as Johnny 13 in Danny Phantom , Art Heist , The Squid and the Whale , as himself...
as Chambers and Lara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn BoyleLara Flynn Boyle is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice...
as Levin. - In 1990, the television series Law and OrderLaw & OrderLaw & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
based the episode "Kiss the Girls and Make Them Die" on the case. - Mike Doyle has stated that his character, Adam Guenzel on OzOz (TV series)Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...
, (1997–2003) was based on Chambers. - The 2003 Law & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal IntentLaw & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
episode "MonsterMonster (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)"Monster" is a second season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Plot summary:In this episode, Detectives Goren and Eames investigate the case of a woman, Laura Dietrich, found murdered in her apartment....
" was based on both the Chambers case and the Central Park Jogger case. - The case is briefly mentioned in Kerry Cohen'sKerry CohenKerry Cohen is an American author. She also writes as Kerry Cohen HoffmannCohen grew up in suburban New Jersey. She received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Oregon and an MA in counseling psychology from Pacific University...
memoirMemoirA memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
Loose Girl (2008). - In the novel American PsychoAmerican PsychoAmerican Psycho is a psychological thriller and satirical novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by the protagonist, serial killer and Manhattan businessman Patrick Bateman. The book's graphic violence and sexual content generated a great deal of...
, Patrick Bateman mentions trying to start a defense fund for Chambers.
Further reading
- Benedict, Helen. Virgin or Vamp. Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN 0-195-06680-4.
- Carr, C. "Who's on Trial?" Village Voice, October 27, 1987.
- Freedman, Samuel J. "Sexual Politics and a Slaying: Anger at Chambers' Defense." New York Times, December 4, 1986.
- Johnson, Kirk. "$150,000 Bail Set in Park Slaying Case." New York Times, September 30, 1986; "Levin's Last Night Recalled by Friend," January 21, 1988; "Chambers, With Jury at Impasse, Admits 1st Degree Manslaughter," March 26, 1988.
- Kunen, James S., Alen Carter, and Kristina Johnson. "Art Imitates Death in the Preppie Murder." People Magazine, September 25, 1989.
- Margolick, David. "Accused of Putting the Victim on Trial, a Top Defense Lawyer is on Trial Himself." New York Times, January 22, 1988.
- MSNBC Television. Headliners and LegendsMSNBC DocumentariesMSNBC Documentaries is the umbrella title of a series of documentaries co-produced by NBC News and MSNBC.Broadcast on MSNBC, each documentary is given its own title to broadcast under or has been produced under one of the titles below.Compared to competing networks, MSNBC airs documentaries on a...
: Robert Chambers. 2001. - Riley, John. "An Aggressive Defense, or Obscene Quest." National Law Journal, April 13, 1987.
- Shipp, E. R. "Decision to Bargain." New York Times, March 26, 1988.
- Taubman, BrynaBryna TaubmanBryna Taubman is an American journalist and author.She graduated from Miami University Ohio and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She worked at the New York Post...
. The Preppy Murder Trial. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988. ISBN 0-312-91317-6. - Uhlig, Mark A. "Jurors Describe 'Wild Shifts' of Opinion." New York Times, March 26, 1988.
- Wolf, Marvin J., and Katherine Mader. "The Right Sort of Friends," in Rotten Apples: Chronicles of New York Crime and Mystery, 1689 to the Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991. ISBN 0345362780.
- Wolfe, Linda. Wasted: The Preppie Murder. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989. ISBN 0-671-64184-0
External links
- Crime Library article (detailed coverage)
- Current Affair video
- Interview with Levin's mother on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
's Larry King LiveLarry King LiveLarry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....