By Ivan Pereira
The Rosedale man who tried to cover up the murder of his child’s mother will be spending a long time behind bars.
A Nassau Supreme Court judge sentenced Marvon Jemmott, 37, to 20 years to life in prison May 18 for the 2009 killing of his estranged girlfriend, Jamaica Smith, Nassau County DA Kathleen Rice said.
Jemmott and Smith, 36, had argued over his lack of child support for their then-6-year-old and he not only strangled her to death and dumped her body in Long Island, but went to the media and reported her missing, the DA said.
“This defendant left his child without a mother, all over child support payments he wasn’t making in the first place,” Rice said in a statement. “We are pleased that today’s sentence ensures that Mr. Jemmott will pay a heavy price for this vicious crime.”
The incident took place right before Thanksgiving when Smith, who had moved back to Rosedale with her daughter after living in Tennessee, met with Jemmott, the DA said.
After strangling her to death, he placed her body in an abandoned home in Uniondale, L.I., according to Rice.
Smith’s family reported her missing and said the last time they saw her was when she dropped off her daughter at her school in Laurelton. For days the family urged anyone with information to come to their aid and got help from the police and elected officials.
Jemmott joined her family with the search and even gave a teary-eyed interview with Channel 11 news ,saying how much he loved Smith.
After Smith’s body was discovered Dec. 7, 2009, investigators revealed his pleas were a ruse. Jemmott was taken into custody a day later and charged with her murder.
He pleaded guilty to murder in March in exchange for last week’s sentence.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
