Family Happy With Sentence For Jamaica Plain Clerk Killer
BOSTON (CBS) – The ex-con convicted of killing a Jamaica Plain store clerk was officially sentenced to life in prison Thursday.
Sixty-five-year-old Edward Corliss was convicted of first-degree murder Tuesday for shooting Surendra Dangol during an armed robbery the day after Christmas in 2009 at the Tedeschi's on Centre Street.
The first-degree murder conviction carries an automatic life sentence without parole.
WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson reports
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
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Dangol, 39, was an immigrant from Nepal living in Somerville on a work visa. Friends say he was trying to create a better life for his wife and daughter, who he hoped to bring here from Nepal.
Dangol's family came to Suffolk Superior Court for the sentencing Thursday afternoon.
His wife and brother spoke through an interpreter as they delivered victim impact statements.
"I'm very happy with a decision that was made. Because of this, people will be saved from another murder," said Dangol's brother Birendra.
"I am really happy that I came from Nepal and got justice here in the United States."
He also thanked the police and prosecutors who worked on the case.
"We were really devastated (by) the incident that happened to my brother, but I am really happy we got justice."
Dongol's wife Kalpana sat crying in court as Birendra spoke. Then, she took the stand, quietly saying, "I am happy that I got justice. I cannot say anything else."
She wept as she walked back to her seat and never looked at Corliss, who was out on parole at the time of the murder, for killing another clerk during a robbery forty years ago.
Before he was sentenced, Corliss was asked if he wanted to speak.
"I'm pretty confused right now, I don't want to say nothing," he told the court.
Corliss was paroled in 2006 after killing a store clerk in Salisbury in 1971.
Before she formally sent Corliss back to prison, Judge Diane Kottmeyer said, "We are all acutely aware of the limitations of justice in a murder case. It cannot return (Dangol) to his family."
"The evidence indicated an absence of remorse, and even a willingness to execute witnesses, including (Corliss') wife."
Kottmeyer said the impact of the crime was enormous.
She recognized Surendra's wife, his daughter and his brother, and the loss they faced without him in their lives.
Then she added, "The impact of this crime isn't confined to those who knew and loved him."
"Mr. Dangol was murdered even through he did everything within his power to comply with Mr. Corliss' demands."
She pointed out that he posed no threat to Corliss, and he could have just left with the cash, but instead chose to shoot and kill him.
The judge recognized the thousands of people who work in stores for minimum wage affected by a crime like this. "People employed in an industry in which the nature of their work exposes them to this kind of danger every day."
