Beat And Drowned Her On The Beach In 2010
A National Guardsman and Far Rockaway resident has been sentenced to up to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend in November 2010 by punching and drowning her on the beach in Far Rockaway.
He was identified by Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown as David Lynch, 33, of Gipson Street in Far Rockaway. Lynch, who served two tours in Iraq and was a reservist in the New York National Guard at the time of the incident, was convicted in March of second-degree murder before Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth C. Holder, who imposed last Wednesday, May 29, the indeterminate sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
“The actions of [Lynch]-brutally beating and drowning a woman he purportedly loved-have irreparably shattered a family by robbing them of a loved one,” Brown said last Wednesday. “The sentence imposed today by the court punishes him and protects society from a vicious and violent predator.”
According to the trial testimony, during the pre-dawn hours of Nov. 23, 2010, Lynch and the victim- Althea Lewis, 45, of Springfield Gardens- were on the beach near the intersection of the Rockaway Board- walk and Beach 32nd Street.
While on the beach, an argument ensued and Lynch punched and bit Lewis about the head and face. He then threw her in the water and dragged her out by her feet, causing her head to become submerged.
When police discovered her body on the beach, Lewis had four puncture wounds on her face that were so deep, they first believed she had been shot in the face several times. However, it turned out that the wounds had been caused by the Army ring that Lynch was wearing when he was punching her.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim died as a result of blunt force injury to her head (nasal fracture and bleeding around the brain) and submersion in water.
Senior Assistant District Attorney Denise Tirino of the District Attorney’s Homicide Trials Bureau prosecuted the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Brad A. Leventhal, bureau chief, and Jack Warsawsky, deputy bureau chief, and the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Charles A. Testagrossa and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney for Major Crimes Daniel A. Saunders.
