A Bayside man convicted of killing both his parents in separate incidents spaced a year apart was sentenced Tuesday to spend the next 50 years behind bars, according to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown.
Gregory Cucchiara, 40, formerly of 215-46 28th Avenue, was convicted in December of two counts of second-degree murder following a jury trial in which he represented himself.
Cucchiara choked his mother, 66-year-old Giusepina Cucchiara, with her own pearl necklace and struck her in the head with a perfume bottle before forcibly submerging her head in a bathtub full of water in their shared home in May 2011. He killed his father, Carmelo Cucchiara, 75, a year and three months later by asphyxiation with a pillow.
Cucchiara was arrested on Nov. 13, 2012 for the crimes after being matched with DNA evidence found under the fingernails of both victims.
Brown said these heinous cases of cold-blooded murder were the ultimate betrayal of family trust.
“These senseless, violent crimes more than justify the sentence imposed today by the court,” Brown said.
