Ex-convict Larry Atkinson was charged with a double murder in New York in 1994 when he pleaded not guilty in court: “I didn’t do it!”
A former prisoner charged with the brutal 1994 double murder of a Harlem mother and her daughter screamed in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, pleading not guilty.
“I’d like to say something, Judge,” career criminal Larry Atkinson yelled during his arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court. “I didn’t do it!”
Atkinson, 64, wore jeans and an olive hoodie – and a walker – when he appeared before Criminal Judge Jay Weiner, who was charged with two counts of second-degree murder.
He was arrested by the NYPD Cold Case Unit at 7:30 a.m. Monday in connection with the long-term deaths of 57-year-old Sarah Roberts and her 25-year-old daughter.
The two victims were found in their apartment in the Grant Houses apartment complex on February 20, 1994, and the case remains a mystery to this day.
Detectives used new DNA technology to link a cigarette butt and nail clippings from the crime scene to Atkinson, police said.
In court on Tuesday, Atkinson’s lawyer argued for her ailing client’s release pending trial.
“My client is now in his 60s and suffering from numerous medical conditions,” legal aid attorney Michelle Villasenor-Grant told the judge. “My client was diagnosed with prostate cancer 11 months ago and gets chemotherapy every week.”
Villasenor-Grant said Atkinson also has cataracts and will have surgery next month.
The judge denied the motion and ordered that he be held without bail.
Police said Atkinson was dating a home health assistant who was caring for Sharon Roberts, who was developmentally disabled, at the time of the murders.
Assistant Celeste Cornelius still lives with the accused of murder and defended him.
“I know he didn’t do it,” she said Monday outside their Harlem apartment. “I don’t want you to misquote me, but I know he didn’t. I don’t care about the DNA – this whole mess. He didn’t do it.”
Police found no evidence of a break-in in the sixth-floor apartment after the housekeeper made the gruesome discovery and called 911, The Post reported at the time.
Sarah Roberts was found on her bed with her daughter lying on the floor with a “woolen stocking wrapped around her neck,” police said in 1994.
Police said they stole a VCR and several hundred dollars in cash, but it remains unclear why Atkinson allegedly killed the couple.
According to the NYPD, Atkinson has a total of 28 arrests and has served five jail terms.
His time behind bars dates back to 1985, when he was sentenced to two years in prison on assault charges and was released on parole in 1987, the state’s online records show.
Atkinson, who also served time for assault, drugs and attempted robbery, was last released on parole in 2013 after serving two more years for attempted drug dealing.
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