Robert Chambers

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Robert Chambers File:Robert-chambers-preppy-killer-levin.jpg Full Name: Robert Emmet Chambers Jr. Alias: The Preppy Killer The Central Park Strangler Origin: New York City, New York, U.S. Occupation: Drug dealer Hobby: Dealing and taking drugs Goals: Escape conviction for Jennifer Levin's murder (partially succeeded) Crimes: Murder/manslaughter Drug dealing Burglary

Robert Emmet Chambers Jr. (born September 25, 1966) is an American criminal who pled guilty to the manslaughter of college student Jennifer Levin in 1986. He claimed that he had accidentally killed Levin during a violent sexual encounter, termed "the rough sex defence" by the media.

Biography

Chambers was born in New York City in 1966. While not wealthy, he managed to attend several elite prep schools in the Upper East Side thanks to his mother working hard to pay for college admissions. He was accepted to Boston University but was expelled after a single semester due to stealing a credit card. Unable to hold down a job, he was forced to get by through burglary and selling drugs.

On August 26, 1986, 18-year-old college student Jennifer Levin was found dead in Central Park. Her half-naked body was lying by a tree with her bra pulled up, with her body and face covered in scratch marks. Her underwear was found 50 yards away. There were red marks across her neck from where she had been strangled and her fingernails were bruised, suggesting that she had been trying to pull away whatever was strangling her. Robert Chambers was at the scene watching the police remove the body.

Chambers first came to the attention of police when several patrons at the Dorrian's Red hand bar stated that Levin had been there before leaving with a man named Robert Chambers. When police interviewed Chambers, he had multiple bloody scratches on his face which he claimed were made by his cat, which had been declawed. He initially claimed he and Levin had left to buy cigarettes, but was informed that Levin was not a smoker. He then changed his story, claiming that he had killed Levin by accident during a sexual encounter. He was booked for second-degree murder, remarking to his father just before "That fucking bitch, why didn't she leave me alone?".

Chamber's claim was that he and Levin, who had previously dated, had gone to Central Park to have sex. During the encounter, Levin had tied his hands with her underwear and begun painfully squeezing his testicles, at which point he had knocked her off and accidentally killed her by striking her in the neck. However, this was not consistent with the medical examiner's conclusion that Levin had died through strangulation. Despite this Chambers continued to rely on this defence at trial, with his lawyer Jack Litman reading out Levin's journal to the court and revealing details of kinky and aggressive sexual encounters in order to try and smear Levin's character. Litman suggested that Chambers had wrapped his arm round Levin's throat while trying to escape from her and accidentally crushed her windpipe, which medical examiner Maria Alandy testified was not consistent with the injuries on Levin's body. Ultimately, the jury was unable to reach a verdict and a mistrial was declared. Chambers agreed to plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Chambers was sued for wrongful death by the Levin family in 1988 while serving his sentence and ordered to pay $25 million. Unable to pay, he was compelled to pay 10% of his income after being released until the debt was paid off. Chambers committed nearly 30 serious infractions during his sentence, mostly drug-related, and spent five years in solitary confinement. He was denied parole twice due to his lack of remorse before eventually being released from prison in February 2003 after serving his full 15-year sentence.

On October 22, 2007, Chambers and his girlfriend Shawn Kovell were arrested after being caught selling cocaine and heroin out of Chamber's apartment. Chambers pled guilty and was sentenced to 19 years in prison in September 2008. He will not be eligible for parole until 2024.