BOSTON, Mass. – The Providence man who kidnapped and murdered a Boston woman three years ago was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday.
Louis Coleman, 36, was sentenced in federal court in Boston, months after he was found guilty of kidnapping resulting in the death of 23-year-old Jassy Correia.
Prosecutors presented a mountain of evidence throughout the month-long trial, arguing Coleman enticed Correia, lured her into his car, held her against her will, and ultimately killed her in February 2019.
Correia’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase in the back of Coleman’s car when he was eventually tracked down days later in Delaware.
Prosecutors said Correia died of strangulation and had suffered blunt force trauma to her head, torso, upper body and neck.
Before the judge ordered Coleman to spend the rest of his life behind bars, the court heard emotional impact statements from Correia’s grandmother and godmother.
Correia’s family told Coleman that he was a “monster and “heartless,” adding that he “destroyed” their family.
Correia left behind a daughter who was just two years of age at the time of her mother’s death.
First Assistant US- District Attorney Joshua Levy, standing with Correia’s family, stated that the verdict could never truly fill the hole left behind by her death.
“Nothing that happens in this building will ever replace the huge void in the hearts of the people behind me,” said Levy. “And if there was one consistent theme in the courtroom it was ‘why’ - why why was this loving daughter taken so brutally, why was this vibrant mother taken from us.”
During trial, the defense never denied that Coleman killed Correia but tried to argue there was no kidnapping and that Correia went with Coleman willingly. They argued her death was the result of a fight that she started.
“We have gotten to know Louis quite well over the past 3.5 years,” said defense attorney David Hoose. “He is not a monster he is a bright intelligent young man who had a great future ahead of him.”
“This crime was gut-wrenching and there is no question today’s sentence is just,” said a statement from Boston’s FBI division in part.
The federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death holds a mandatory sentence of death or life in prison. Prosecutors previously said that they would not seek the death penalty.
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