Life Terms for 2 Who Killed German Tourist

Two men were sentenced Monday to life in prison for the 1993 slaying of German tourist Barbara Meller Jensen in an attack that helped to spark worldwide concern for the safety of foreign visitors here.

Dade County Circuit Judge Fredricka Smith sentenced Anthony Williams, 21, and Leroy Rogers, 25, both of Miami, to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. The sentence was the judge’s only option since prosecutors had decided not to seek the death penalty.

The two were convicted last month of the April 2, 1993, murder of Jensen, who was robbed and run over in front of her mother and two young children when she took a wrong turn off a highway en route to a Miami Beach hotel. Both men gave confessions in which they said she fell under the wheel of the car as they fled. Both said they didn’t get fair trials.

“Before I started this trial I was guilty anyway,” Williams said before sentencing.

Smith also sentenced Williams to 30 years for armed robbery, 20 years of which will run consecutive to the life term. Rogers was sentenced to 15 years, consecutive to his life term, on the same charge. Williams had two prior convictions for armed robbery.