Preppie Killer Sent to Prison for 5-15 Years

A remorseful Robert Chambers was sentenced today to five to 15 years in prison for manslaughter as part of a plea bargain for the Central Park strangulation of a young woman he said took place during a rough sexual encounter.

In the final chapter of the sensational preppie murder case, Chambers, 21, a prep school graduate, shook his head “no” as he was formally sentenced in a courtroom packed with his and his victim’s families and friends.

He had insisted he accidentally killed Jennifer Levin, 18, in a Central Park crab apple grove Aug. 26, 1986, during a rough sexual encounter that became painful.

Chambers apologized for the first time to the family of the victim.

“To Jennifer, nothing I can do or say can ever bring her back. But I am sorry, “ he said.

“Whoever said time heals all wounds was wrong, . . . “ Chambers quietly told the court. “Jennifer is looking down on us now, looking and wondering why it all happened and I don’t know. I never meant this to happen. I never wanted this to happen.”

His Mother Weeps

Dan Levin, the victim’s uncle, said bitterly after the apology, “It in no way cancels out what he did, which was to murder my niece in cold blood.”

Phyllis Chambers, the killer’s mother, sat in the courtroom as Chambers left, weeping for her only son.

Chambers will be 26 years old when he is eligible for parole in the five- to 15-year sentence that was part of a last-minute plea bargain that ended a three-month trial March 25.

The sentencing came after the prosecutor and defense attorney haggled over a pre-sentencing report that could have an effect on a determination of parole in five years. Defense attorney Jack Litman sought a delay in order to hold a pre-sentencing conference.

“I don’t see the necessity for a pre-sentence conference,” said state Supreme Court Justice Howard Bell in rejecting the delay and imposing the sentence.

Chambers’ girlfriend, Shawn Kovell, 19, was among half a dozen Chambers friends who lined up early to get into the courtroom.

Nine days of jury deliberations were halted by the agreement after the jury deadlocked. The prep school graduate and former altar boy could have been convicted of a charge as severe as second-degree murder.