Teen-aged Killer Gets 70 Years
Seventeen-year-old Sam Manzie will be eligible for Social Security by the time he is released from prison. He will have to serve at least 59 years of the 70-year sentence handed down Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Peter Giovine for the 1997 murder of Eddie Werner.
With his head bowed the Jackson Township, New Jersey teen calmly read a statement of apology, saying he was sorry "for all of the suffering I've put so many people through. This isn't the way things should work out," he continued, "I still can't figure out why I did what I did."
In a deal with the district attorney, but against the wishes of his parents and lawyers, Manzie pleaded guilty to murdering Werner, who prosecutors say was robbed and raped before being slain. Manzie described how he lured the boy into his home, took an electrical cord from an alarm clock and strangled him for 40 minutes until he was convinced the 11 year-old was dead.
Acquaintances and authorities described Manzie as a tortured loner who had few friends. The killing shocked the small New Jersey community and raised questions about the use of children for fund-raising efforts. Werner was going door-to-door trying to win a walkie-talkie by selling the most merchandise for the PTA.
In an emotional courtroom appearance, Manzie's mother Dolores pleaded with the court not to give her son a life sentence. "I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm asking you today to have some mercy on my son," she said. "He is my only son and I am dying here today knowing that he may go to prison for the rest of his life."
Judge Giovine later ordered her removed from the courtroom after an outburst that interrupted prosecutor William Cunningham. "Why don't you try to destroy this family a little more?" she yelled as a phalanx of officers whisked her away.
Edward P. Werner, father of the victim, urged Giovine to sentence Manzie to life in prison and asked him to consider the "tremendous pain" that his son's friends and family have suffered. "When I ask the judge to render a life sentence, it is not revenge... it is not evil. It is the only way to make sure that Manzie never kills any more dreams or makes any more nightmares," Werner said.
Prosecutors say Manzie killed the Werner for rejecting his sexual advances. Afterward, he photographed the boy's half-naked body, a necktie and the alarm clock cord still around his neck.
During the investigation it was revealed that Manzie had a sexual relationship with 45 year-old Stephen Simmons of Holbrook, N.Y., authorities say the two met via the Internet.
Manzie's mother has said Simmons' alleged molestation of her son played a part in his mental state in the days leading up to the killing. Simmons remains jailed on $225,000 bond accused of criminal sexual contact and assault.
Mrs. Manzie has criticized psychiatrists who treated her son before the killing for not confining hito a psychiatric facility. The Manzies asked a judge to do so less than a week before the killing, but the court declined and released him to his parents' custody.