A cold case murder is finally being laid to rest — Robert Fleming, 49, was sentenced today to life in prison for the murders of a young mother and her 9-year-old daughter more than 25 years ago. Credit: Thinkstock
Robert Fleming, 49, was sentenced today to life in prison for the murders of a young mother and her 9-year-old daughter more than a quarter century ago.
Fleming was convicted last month in the second-degree murders of then 27-year-old Selina Cooper and her daughyer, Joi Little, in February 1988. The Bronx District Attorney’s office said Fleming and Cooper had briefly been involved in a relationship.
Supreme Court Justie Margaret Clancy doled out two consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison for the two murders, meaning Fleming won’t be up for parole until he has served at least 50 years.
There were also allegations of rape, sodomy and other sexual offenses committed against Cooper and Little, but Fleming could not be charged for any sex crimes because of a statute of limitations.
Fleming was not arrested and charged until more than two decades had passed. In 2001, NYPD Cold Case detectives were able to run DNA tests on semen samples from bloody bedsheets where the victims were found. Those tests matched Fleming’s DNA profile, in a state database as a result of his conviction for an unrelated crime. Two years later, vaginal swabs taken from the victims were tested as well.
Fleming was indicted in January 2009.
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