Twenty four year old Darrell Grant who was found guilty last week of the gruesome murder of 39 year old Sandra Ruiz, was sentenced for the crime in the Supreme Court today.
At today's sentencing, Grant who was represented by Attorney Dickie Bradley did not call any character witnesses - neither did he nor his attorney have anything to say. That's because persons who are found guilty of murder are no longer given the death penalty, making the sentence of life imprisonment mandatory and automatic.
Ruiz, a mother of two was bludgeoned to death with a hammer on August 10th, 2008 in her home on Meighan Avenue in Kings Park. Her 8 year old daughter who was in the room with her was also beaten with the same hammer, but survived. Ruiz's second daughter, who was 13 years old at the time, hid in the bathroom during the attack. Grant was found wearing one of Ruiz's stolen gold chains by the police the day after the incident. He is said to have given the police a caution statement in which he implicated himself.
