Emanuel Lopes was sentenced Wednesday to consecutive life sentences for murdering a police sergeant and an elderly woman in Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 2018.
The 26-year-old will not be eligible to go before a parole board until he's 60, Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone said after delivering the sentence, which she made after considering what she described as "very powerful" victim impact statements read by friends and family of the victims, Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna and Vera Adams, in court.
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Lopes had given a brief statement on his behalf, offering an apology to the families and friends of his victims.
"I'm so sorry, this should have never happened," Lopes said.
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Afterward, Chesna's widow, Cindy Chesna, had her head in her hands several rows back in the packed room at Norfolk Superior Court. Nearby were banks of uniformed police officers.
Earlier, family and friends of Chesna and Adams gave emotional victim impact statements, all urging for the maximum sentence.
"My husband served two tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and survived an IED explosion, only to be gunned down a few miles from his home, knocked out with a rock and shot with his own service weapon, by a coward who stood over him while he lay unconscious, unable to move and defend himself," Cindy Chesna said. "A monster who then murdered an innocent woman sitting in her own home. I will never understand how anyone could do that to a human being. I will never understand such evil."
She also read statements from Chesna's kids, both of whom shared memories about their father and the lasting, ongoing pain his killing left them with six years later.
"I want the roachy monster to know that he's a horrible, horrible person. Because of him, I'm basically sad every day, but I don't really show it. He took away something I love. I wish my dad was still here," Jack said.
Olivia said it's become harder to stay strong for her family as she's gotten older and the reality that her father won't come back has set in, though it hasn't changed how she feels about him: "He was and will always be my hero. He wasn't my hero for his job or how he died, but for his character. My dad was always there for me."
Other statements were read by Chesna's mother, fellow officers still haunted by seeing their colleague and friend murdered and the family of Adams.
"Having to relive the case over and over again has been gut-wrenching. Our family has a sense of relief knowing this will soon be over," her family said in a statement read in court by a prosecutor.
Lopes' first prosecution ended in a mistrial last July, when a jury could not decide whether Lopes should be convicted due to his history of mental illness.
He attacked Chesna with a rock while being arrested for driving erratically and vandalizing a home. During a struggle with the police sergeant, Lopes took Chesna's gun and shot him eight times in the chest and head. He then shot Adams, a 77-year-old who was nearby in her home's sunroom.
A second trial with a jury from a different county began this January. He was found guilty a month later.
Lopes was supposed to be sentenced on March 19, 2024, but that date was pushed back to July 31. His attorney requested the delay, saying he needed more time to develop evidence before making an argument about parole eligibility.
