A married man who strangled his girlfriend to death in view of her workplace surveillance cameras was convicted of murder.
34-year-old Rolanso Lexune was found guilty of killing 25-year-old Deneisha Smith in the back room of her Flatbush, New York office in October 2016. Her murder comes after she called off her relationship to Lexune after discovering her he was married with kids.
Deneisha was working at Bedford Technology when her ex-boyfriend arrived. He demanded that she let in.
Lexune followed Deneisha inside then shoved her into a back room of the store where he began arguing with her. He was caught on no less than nine different security cameras as he brutalized Deneisha, who had taken out an order of protection against him, over the course of 40 minutes.
Deneisha eventually managed to break away from Lexune and locked herself in a back room of the store. Although he could not get through the door, Lexune eventually burst through a two-way mirror and made his way into the room, where he proceeded to kick and beat Deneisha as she tried to escape.
Deneisha managed to grab a shard of glass from the broken mirror, which she used to slash her attacker. Unfortunately, she was unable to fight him off. He eventually choked her to death.
Deneisha’s coworker found her three hours later, called 911. When emergency responders arrived, they pronounced her dead at the scene.
Authorities were able to identify Lexune as Deneisha’s attacker after speaking to witnesses and viewing video footage inside the store.
Police rushed to Lexune’s East Flatbush apartment, which he shared with his wife and children. He was taken into custody after plunging a knife into his stomach, cops said.
The two were engaged to be married, according to trial testimony, even though Lexune was already a married father-of-four. She took out the order of protection against him prior to the incident after he hit her and stole her cell phone.
The 25-year-old woman left behind a 7-year-old boy.
“The entirety of this murder was on video,” Judge Jill Konviser said Monday as she addressed convicted killer Rolanso Lexune. “To watch the defendant beat, abuse, berate, cut, and strangle a lovely, vibrant young woman is something this court will never forget.”
“Sentencing is often excruciating for a judge,” added Konviser. “In this case, not so much.”
Lexune denied any wrongdoing. In an interview with police, he said he was stunned when the officers descended on his home because he had not committed any crime. Although he admitted having a romantic relationship with Deneisha, he claimed the relationship ended eight months before she was killed and had not seen her since they had broken up. Lexune said he ended the relationship with Deneisha because she wanted him to leave his wife so they could get married, and he was not willing to walk away from his family.
Lexune was ultimately convicted of murder and was sentenced to life in prison on June 11, 2018. He still denies any involvement in Deneisha’s murder.
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