Jerry Bowens, the former cop who pled guilty to to the 2009 second-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend and shooting her friend in a Greenpoint apartment, was sentenced yesterday to 40 years to life. In court, the 13-year police veteran, previously been ejected from the force for stealing drugs and supplying them to informants, spoke highly of his victim, Catherine D’Onofrio, and expressed remorse for his actions—to no avail.
"Catherine was the type of person—to know her you had to love her. She was a wonderful person," Bowens said. "The world would be a better place if she was here and I was gone."
The judge was not swayed by Bowens' words, however, stating that his judgement was one of the easiest he'd ever made and that "this was a horrendous crime.. a horrific crime. I’ve seen a lot of crime and this one ranks right up there."
Bowens killed D'Onofrio and shot at her friend Melissa Simmons's apartment on Engert Avenue in a "criminally confused" attempt to woo her back, it seems. He buzzed to get in, got into an argument with D'Onofrio, and then shot her and Simmons. D'Onofrio died while Simmons, who was grazed on the head and shot in the arm, was able to identify Bowens as the shooter. According to his lawyer the day before the shooting he had told her, "If I can’t be with you, I don’t want to live."
