Glen Head Killer Gets Life Sentence for Conn. Murder

Seven years after fatally shooting Glen Head jeweler Thomas Renison, Christopher DiMeo was given a second life sentence for the 2005 murder of a Connecticut couple.

DiMeo, 29, of Richmond Hill, was sentenced to life in prison by a Bridgeport Superior Court Judge on Friday, April 1 for the murder of Tim and Kim Donnelly.

DiMeo was found guilty on Feb. 9, 2011 and convicted of two counts of murder and one count each of first-degree robbery and capital felony for the Feb. 2, 2005 double murder-robbery at the Donnelly’s downtown Fairfield jewelry store, according to .

DiMeo was already serving a life sentence, without the possibility of parole, after the murder and robbery of Glen Cove resident Renison, 48, inside J&J Jewelers in Glen Head on Dec. 21, 2005.

DiMeo shot Renison, a married father of two, during the heist after he refused to give up jewels and money, according to the Long Island Press. 

DiMeo's then-girlfriend and accomplice Nicole Pearce was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the Glen Head robbery and murder.

DiMeo’s mother, Maryann Taylor, is serving  a 15-year sentence for driving the getaway car.

Shortly after DiMeo was sentenced for the Donnelly murder, Connecticut Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Joseph Corradino said that the prosecution's main priority was justice.

“No criminal prosecution can restore completely the loss to a victim. In murders it never happens, but we can at least strive for justice," Corradino said. "We had perhaps the best criminal judge in the state; we had a jury of dedicated, intelligent, conscientious citizens charged with a difficult task. A civilized society of which we prosecutors and the police are its representatives and defenders should provide nothing less, even for such a senseless brutal crime. We owe as much and more to Tim and Kim Donnelly and their beautiful family. In the end, however, our human system guarantees a defendant due process; it guarantees no one justice.” 

In his closing argument at the Donnelly's double murder trial, Corradino told the jury that DiMeo was in downtown Fairfield that afternoon, “preparing to execute – once again – a well-developed scheme of robbery, and ultimately death,” according to Fairfield Patch.

During the penalty phase, DiMeo’s lead defense attorney Michael Courtney, who has referred to his client as a “junkie with a gun,” attempted to show the jury what DiMeo’s “life was about:” a life of violence, drugs and abuse that ultimately led him to cross paths with the well-liked, unassuming couple.

 honors Renison with an annual . Renison's daughter played for Glen Cove softball at the time of his death.

Patch will update this story as more information becomes available.

Editor's Note: Erin E. Harrison contributed to this story.