By Albert Silvestri
The tragedy occurred on the morning of Dec. 3, 2003, after what police said was an argument between Raymond Smith, 33, and his aunt, Effie Roseborough, 57, at the child care center she owned, the Tots Learning World and Rose Tutoring Center. Smith lived in an apartment above the center and had worked there for more than 10 years but became enraged after Roseborough informed him that she was donating the building to her church and therefore evicting him from his apartment, the New York Daily News said. Just this week, Smith admitted to shooting his aunt 16 times using two different handguns, dragging her body up to the second floor and fleeing the scene, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Assistant District Attorney Denise Tirino said Smith fired 41 shots in total.After a high-speed chase on the Grand Central Parkway, police arrested Smith that night inside Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Brown said.Smith was originally charged with murder and criminal possession of a handgun, but accepted the charge of manslaughter to avoid a trial and all subsequent hearings, according to a spokeswoman at the Queens district attorney's office. “On his side he just decided let's end this now,” she said.At the hearing, Queens Supreme Court Justice Robert Hanophy indicated that he would sentence Smith to a term of 25 years in prison at his sentencing on July 7.”The victim, Effie Roseborough, was a well-liked member of the community and her death has left the children she cared for and loved and their families shattered by the violence,” Brown said.A Dec. 10, 2003, memorial service saw hundreds of friends, family members and former students gather and pay respect to a teacher who had touched so many young lives.”Just by looking out in the audience today, I can tell my mother was loved,” Roseborough's daughter, Sherry Purdie, said during the memorial service. “I know my mother touched the lives of children and their parents as well.”
