Ramon Concepcion: the 1993 New York killings and his sentence

Ramon Concepcion, a mechanic from the Bronx, was sentenced to 42½ years to life in prison after a case that began in the first days of May 1993, when six people were found dead in a New York apartment. He was 28 when police charged him. This article sets out what officers said at the time, how the charges were framed and what an indeterminate sentence of this kind means in practice.

The charges announced in May 1993

On Tuesday 4 May 1993, police in New York announced that Concepcion had been charged with six counts of second-degree murder. He had been questioned overnight by homicide detectives, and the charges were brought at noon. At that stage the account was an allegation, set out by a police spokesman, and he was presumed innocent.

Second-degree murder is New York's main murder charge. It covers an intentional killing that is not classed as first-degree murder, which is reserved for specific aggravating circumstances. Being charged with six counts meant prosecutors treated each death as a separate offence.

What police said had happened

According to police, the dead were Concepcion's former girlfriend, her mother and her three young children, together with a sixth person. Reports at the time said the woman's relationship with Concepcion had been stormy and that she had recently ended it and asked him to leave the home. The children were aged ten, five and 18 months. Because they were minors, they are not named here.

Police said the first death followed an argument on Saturday 1 May. They alleged the other victims were killed one after another over the following hours. Reports also described a sixth victim, said to have been killed after a further argument.

Officers said that after the deaths Concepcion stayed in the apartment overnight. They alleged he went to a baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday 2 May and, on Monday 3 May, used paint thinner to start a fire in the flat before going to work. A long carving knife, which police said might be the weapon, was recovered from a rubbish bin outside the building. These details were allegations from the investigation, not findings by a court.

Newspaper accounts of the time varied slightly on the setting. Some described the suspect as a Bronx resident, and the apartment was reported to be in East Harlem, in Manhattan.

The sentence: 42½ years to life

The writer's record of the case gives the final outcome as a prison term of 42½ years to life. In New York, a sentence expressed this way has two parts. The first figure is the minimum term, which Concepcion must serve before he can be considered for release on parole. The second, life, is the maximum, so he could in principle remain in custody for the rest of his life even after the minimum has passed.

The first figure does not mean release at that point. A parole board decides whether to free someone once the minimum has been served, and it can refuse. For a person sentenced for the deaths of six people, including three young children, that decision would be weighed against the seriousness of the offences.

How the figure fits New York law

For a single count of second-degree murder, New York law sets an indeterminate sentence. The minimum is fixed by the judge within a range of 15 to 25 years, and the maximum is life. Where a defendant is convicted of several killings, a judge may order the terms to run one after another or at the same time. That choice largely determines the total minimum. The 42½-year figure falls above one single minimum term and below what six consecutive maximum minimums would produce. This article does not break it down further, because the record available does not set out how the total was reached.

Where such cases are heard

In New York State, serious felony trials are held in the Supreme Court, which in that state is a trial court rather than the highest court. The state's top court is the Court of Appeals. A defendant who is convicted can appeal to the Appellate Division and, in some circumstances, onward. This article does not report any appeal in Concepcion's case.

Why the case is remembered

Multiple killings within a household are among the most distressing cases that courts handle. Reporting at the time centred on the number of victims, the ages of the children and the allegation that the killings were followed by an attempt to destroy evidence by fire. A court sentence of 42½ years to life reflects the scale of the offences, and it also means the question of release will rest with a parole board many years from now.

Summary

• Ramon Concepcion, 28, was charged on 4 May 1993 with six counts of second-degree murder.
• Police alleged the killings began on Saturday 1 May, that he attended a baseball game on 2 May and that he set a fire in the apartment on 3 May.
• The victims were reported to be his former partner, her mother, her three children and one other person.
• He was sentenced to 42½ years to life in prison, meaning a minimum term before parole can be considered and a maximum of life.