(NewsNation) — The mother of a man who was fatally drugged and robbed by men he met at a New York bar in 2022 is grateful his killers will spend decades behind bars.
Authorities say John Umberger, 33, was one of several victims targeted by a group that lured and drugged victims to gain access to their bank accounts. Not all victims died, but the concoction that killed Umberger contained the deadly drug fentanyl.
Linda Clary said Jayqwan Hamilton and Robert DeMaio, the two men convicted in her son’s murder and robbery, shot video as he slipped away in a townhome. Then they wasted little time buying luxury goods with the money they siphoned, she said.
“They weren’t doing it to provide for their family, they were just doing it to live large, and there’s such a callousness with how they viewed my son’s life,” Clary told “NewsNation Prime” on Saturday.
She said she’s thankful Hamilton and DeMaio were each sentenced to 40 years to life in prison for her son’s death. Now, she said, they won’t be able to harm others.
A third defendant, Jacob Barroso, received a shorter sentence of 20 years to life. Authorities say all three were responsible for the fentanyl drugging death of another man, 25-year-old Julian Ramirez, in what was believed to be a broader scheme to victimize patrons of gay clubs in Hell’s Kitchen.
Clary said she appeared at the Wednesday sentencing hearing and made a statement in hopes of conveying “the horror of what they did.” The New York Times reported one defendant declined to speak; another maintained his innocence, while a third offered condolences so quickly that the judge asked, “Is that it?”
“When you’re dealing with people that don’t have any empathy, you can’t get someone to understand,” Clary said. “So, that was very painful and heartbreaking.”
