By Karenlyn Barone
Nelson Zuniga was escorted into the courtroom of Judge Jerald S. Carter in Nassau County's Supreme Court at 10:50 a.m., and less than 10 minutes later was read his sentence in the murder of Anthony Battaglia. Wearing an oversized white T-shirt and baggy jeans, Zuniga scanned the courtroom. He made eye contact with his mother, who sat quietly at the back of the room, and he smiled at a friend. His attorney, Christopher Renfroe, spoke with him for a moment, and the two shared a laugh. Then Assistant District Attorney Michael Walsh addressed the judge.
Walsh asked for the maximum sentence allowable by law. "Your honor, for two years you have conducted hearings and sat in on a trial," he said. "You know the impact this case has had on Caryn Battaglia, the community and Nassau County. Two children lost their father, Caryn Battaglia lost her husband ... and she had to relive it all over again in court."
Zuniga, Omar Delarosa, 19, Janny Paez, 21, Fernando Moronta, 21, and Marina Musso, 22, all of Freeport, went on a robbery spree in September 2003. In their wake, they left behind victims in Long Beach, Island Park and Rockville Centre, as well as Battaglia. Caryn Battaglia found her husband at the back door of their home, shot, stabbed and badly beaten, the key to the door in his hand.
According to court testimony, Musso waited down the block in her silver Nissan X-terra on the night of Sept. 18 while the other four approached Battaglia as he walked home from the Lynbrook LIRR station. When they attempted to rob him, Battaglia fought back. In the struggle, Delarosa stabbed Battaglia and Zuniga shot him. The five Freeport friends, whom Carter referred to as "a wolfpack preying on people," were arrested in February 2004.
During the sentencing, Walsh described Zuniga's shooting of Battaglia as "an act of pure viciousness." He reminded the judge of the findings during the trial. "Zuniga shot a man who had already been beaten and stabbed and who was bleeding to death from his injuries. The defendant should never again be given the opportunity to cause pain and suffering. This is someone society should be protected from for as long as the court will allow."
Walsh implored Carter to send a message to the community that justice was done. For their part in the incidents of Sept. 18 and 19, 2003, Paez, Moronta and Musso pleaded guilty and received reduced jail terms. Delarosa will be sentenced on Friday. Zuniga refused the offer of a reduced sentence for his guilty plea and, professing his innocence, opted for a trial. As part of the plea bargain, Moronta and Musso testified against Zuniga. With his friends on the witness stand providing damaging testimony, Zuniga was found guilty.
When asked to address the court before the sentence was imposed, Renfroe described his client as someone who "made a turn for the worse." He told Carter that Zuniga understood that "something very bad had happened and that he caused a fatal injury." But he reminded Carter that Zuniga was only 19 at the time of the murder, and that "we cannot say what he will be like in 25 years. He has truly expressed remorse for Caryn Battaglia."
When asked by Carter if he had anything to say, Zuniga said, "No."
The judge did not hide his disdain when he addressed Zuniga. "All four acknowledged guilt and accepted responsibility," he said. "You had the same opportunity and refused to do so." Carter said he found Zuniga to be "totally without remorse." He noted Zuniga's behavior in court, mentioning how, when the autopsy photos of Battaglia were displayed, Zuniga laid his head on the defense table as if he were sleeping, and how he cracked his knuckles during testimony.
Addressing Zuniga directly, Carter said, "You even had the temerity to let out a yawn that echoed through these chambers. I see absolutely no remorse in the callousness and cowardice of your conduct."
Zuniga stood expressionless as Carter continued. "I don't think he is capable of rehabilitation. ... I know he is not capable of rehabilitation," said Carter. "Anthony Battaglia had the right to come off the train and kiss his wife and see his kids. You coldly took that man's life."
As Caryn Battaglia, her family and friends silently wiped away tears, Carter read part of a letter she sent to the court. In it she spoke of daughter Stephanie, now 5, and how she has accepted that her father is an angel. Yet she told her mother that she wishes she could build a time machine to go back and see her father. Stephanie also has asked her mother if she could run all her birthdays together so that she could go to heaven soon.
"Please punish Nelson Zuniga. Please keep him away from us," Battaglia wrote.
"I'm going to grant that wish," Carter responded. He imposed the 70 years-to-life sentence for second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree attempted robbery and four counts of first-degree robbery.
Carter closed by telling Zuniga, who listened with a neutral expression, "Someday, when you are upstate, and you'll probably be 70 or 80 years old ... you're going to wish you could talk to the 21-year-old you are today and tell him how stupid he was - how he ruined that 80-year-old's life. Welcome to the rest of your life."
Leaving the courtroom on the arm of Milton Aponte, the lead detective on the case, Battaglia said, "Thank God for the judge. Thank God for everyone. He will never see the light of day again."
A woman who served on the jury sat quietly in court on Tuesday. After the sentencing, she paused on the steps of the courthouse to speak to the Herald. "It was very traumatic to serve on that jury," she said. "I wanted to be here today to see it all wrapped up. Judge Carter said it all. The system works."
As Renfroe left the court building, he said over his shoulder, "You know there will be an appeal."
Comments about this story? KBarone@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
