Man pleads guilty to murder of Duquesne student
A man pleaded guilty Thursday to third-degree murder in the shooting two years ago of a Duquesne University student.
Kristopher Lott, 24, will serve 27½ to 60 years in prison for killing Ryan Ramirez, 21, of Kennedy.
There is still a case pending against Lott’s co-defendant, Lauren O’Connor.
Deputy District Attorney Bill Petulla told Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Beth A. Lazzara during the hearing that Ms. O’Connor met with Ramirez on Aug. 22, 2016, and then traveled with him to Settler’s Cabin Park in Allegheny County, where they met up with Lott.
Lott almost immediately became aggressive and started assaulting Mr. Ramirez and demanding money, the prosecutor said. They drove to a nearby PNC Bank where Lott forced Mr. Ramirez to empty his bank accounts. They totaled $78.
The group then left in the car, and eventually pulled over in a remote area of Hanover on Steubenville Pike. Lott got Mr. Ramirez out of the car, shot him in the forehead, and he and Ms. O’Connor left, returning to her parents’ home in Robinson.
Later that night, Robinson police were called to the neighborhood for a report of two people loitering outside. When police questioned Ms. O’Connor and Lott, officers discovered the pair had a handgun with them that later matched the weapon that killed Mr. Ramirez, whose body was found three days later.
During the sentencing hearing, several members of Mr. Ramirez’s family told Judge Lazzara that he was a kind, sensitive, giving man who was great with children and hoped to be a teacher one day.
His parents described their son as highly competitive, quick-witted, friendly and helpful.
John Ramirez said that he coached his son in baseball and wrestling, and even though he was so competitive, during baseball games Ryan would take himself out of the game so others could get playing time to share in the love of the sport.
Once at Duquesne, Mr. Ramirez said, a student Ryan didn’t know didn’t have money to pay for his
lunch, so Ryan paid instead.
“To touch people like this is a gift,” he said.
“He would have helped you if you asked,” Mr. Ramirez told Lott. “For this, I feel sorry for you. You’re too young to be so hateful.
“What you have done has truly broken our family.”
However, Mr. Ramirez also told Judge Lazzara that after their son’s death, the family created a mentoring program for middle school students in the Sto-Rox School District called Rebound for Ryan, which teaches kids basketball and life skills.
Shari Ramirez, Ryan’s mother, said her son was always giving money to homeless people and couldn’t drive past a man selling flowers on a bridge without stopping to buy some.
“He was constantly bringing home flowers,” she said.
Giuseppe Rosselli, Lott’s defense attorney, did not present any witnesses on his behalf.
“The picture that’s painted from these cases is a very dark one,” he said. “It’s hard to find any light. Although his conduct could be described as evil or dark, there’s a part of him that’s very much human.
“I know he’s sorry for what he’s done.”
When asked near the end of the hearing if he had anything to say, Lott declined.
“In saying ‘no,’ sir, you speak volumes to me,” Judge Lazzara said. “It seems hard for me to believe that anyone would not want to say they’re sorry for what happened to this family.
“By you not saying anything, it tells me so much about you.”
In addition to the murder charge, Lott also pleaded guilty to robbery, kidnapping, conspiracy and a firearms count in the Ramirez case. He also pleaded guilty to a separate robbery of three women on the South Side and a separate gun and theft case.