Two men who pleaded guilty to robbing and killing an aspiring British politician were given long prison terms yesterday for the fatal 2006 stabbing in Georgetown.
D.C. Superior Court Judge Neal E. Kravitz called the July 2006 murder of Alan Senitt a “savage and senseless killing” as he sentenced Christopher Piper and Jeffrey Rice to 37 years and 52 years respectively. The prison terms also include time for several robberies the men committed shortly before the Senitt killing.
In the Senitt case, both men pleaded guilty in May to second-degree murder and robbery. Piper also pleaded guilty to a sex charge for assaulting Mr. Senitt’s female companion, while Rice pleaded guilty to gun charges. Judge Kravitz gave both men consecutive sentences, meaning they will serve terms for each count back-to-back.
The men must serve 85 percent of their sentences before they are eligible for early release.
Before the sentencing, Mr. Senitt’s mother, Karen Senitt of London, urged Judge Kravitz to impose the maximum terms possible under the plea agreement for the robbery that turned deadly, saying there can be “no defense, no justification, no reason” for the murder of her son.
Afterward, she said the judicial system was too lenient on the two men and a third defendant, a teen who was 15 at the time. The teen pleaded guilty as a juvenile, but will only be held until he turns 21. Mrs. Senitt said the sentences for the second-degree murder — 18 years for Piper and 25 years for Rice — were not strong enough.
“For murder, it didn’t seem enough, especially since it was unprovoked,” she said.
Both Piper, 26, and Rice, 24, apologized to the Senitt family, saying their intent was to get cash for drugs and their families, not to kill.
“I wish I could trade my life for his,” Rice said.
Mr. Senitt, 27, was in the District to study political fundraising, volunteering at a political action committee for former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner. Previously, he worked for Greville Jenner in the British House of Lords and once led a national Jewish student group in Britain.
He and his companion were returning from a movie July 9, 2006, when they were approached by Rice, Piper and the juvenile. Rice stabbed Mr. Senitt and slit his throat while Piper reached into the woman’s blouse.
Piper and Rice both served prior prison time for offenses that included drug possession and robbery. According to prosecutors, they used a pellet gun to rob 11 persons in the days before the murder.
Money from those crimes funded the purchase of the knife used to kill Mr. Senitt. A fourth defendant, Olivia Miles, awaits sentencing for charges related to driving the getaway car after Mr. Senitt was stabbed.
An attorney for Mr. Senitt’s companion, who was not present at yesterday’s hearing, read a written statement of her account of the murder before Piper and Rice were sentenced. The Associated Press is not identifying her because she is a victim of a sexual crime.
Mr. Senitt and the woman initially greeted their assailants when they saw them outside the mansion where Mr. Senitt was staying. The men verbally accosted the pair and Mr. Senitt pleaded with the men to leave them alone.
They were split up, the woman said, and Piper forced her to the ground and fondled her. She screamed she was being raped. She said Mr. Senitt’s final words were: “They’ve cut me.” The woman recalled vivid memories of Mr. Senitt lying on the ground, covered in blood.
“No one deserved to spend their final moments like this, especially Alan,” she wrote.
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