Yesterday, a Manhattan judge sentenced 21 year old Rudy Fleming to life in prison without parole for his "unconscionable" actions in the murder of Nicole duFrense in January 2005. During an late night/early morning with, duFresne, fiance Jeffrey Sparks and friends and Fleming and his friends who were on a mugging spree, ran into each other. Fleming had taken duFresne's purse and pistol whipped Sparks, angering duFresne who said, "What are you going to do, shoot us?" One of Fleming's friends said that Fleming shot duFresne because he "was so mad" after she challenged him. more ›

Yesterday, a jury found 21 year old Rudy Fleming guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting death of Nicole duFresne. Fleming was also found guilty of various robbery and weapons charges stemming the January 2005 incident on Clinton Street. He and his friends had been robbing and scaring people, and when they came across duFresne, her fiance, and their friends; Fleming pistolwhipped fiance Jeffrey Sparks and duFresne reportedly confronted Fleming, saying, "What are you going to do, shoot us?" Fleming did shoot duFresne, but his defense attempted to argue that the gun went off by accident (witnesses disagreed). Fleming, who did not attend the trial, had been on parole for gun possession during the shooting. He now faces a maximum of life in prison without parole; his sentencing will be on November 30. The cases of his accomplices are sitll pending. more ›

Yesterday, one of the teenagers that mugged and terrorized people on a January 2005 night testfied that Rudy Fleming did not shoot Nicole duFresne by accident. Tatiana McDonald, who was 14 during the fatal mugging (she's now 16), told the court that the group of teens were bored after smoking marijuana and playing video games, so they decided "to start trouble." more ›

- And some of the most gorgeous New York City photograph we've seen are from Arnold Pouteau - here are his pictures on Flickr more ›

At that point, the group spotted Ms. duFresne; her fiancé, Jeffrey Sparks; and another couple. They had come from a nearby bar, where they celebrated Ms. duFresne's new job at a local nightclub. more ›

After wondering about the intense (some might say excessive) coverage of Nicole duFresne's murder on the Lower East Side - and being party to it - Gothamist is glad that the Village Voice Jarrett Murphy investigated the local reporting on it. Murphy's article, "A Murder Made For the Front Page," looks at how the NY Times, Daily News, and Newsday covered the story, amid questions whether it became a race story (white woman killed by black teen). Of course, the papers say this story would have been covered no matter what race the victim was, given that the murder happened in an "interesting neighborhood" and had the "aspiring-success" angle. However, how readers perceive the information is another issue, and Murphy makes a point of saying that the racial dynamic should have been addressed. more ›

The NY Times noted the similarity between this incident and Burke O'Brien's death on Orchard Street two years ago. The O'Brien murder also occured in the early morning, around 4AM. This makes Gothamist think that even though the Lower East Side is hopping with bars and activity, like any part of the city, it's vulnerable at night. more ›