Stamford man sentenced to 85 years
Convicted of bludgeoning murder of 93-year-old woman in 2019
STAMFORD — A city man convicted of killing a 93-yearold woman during a home invasion was handed a maximum sentence of 85 years on Monday.
Friends and family members of 93-year-old Isabella Mehner, many with tears in their eyes, watched as Robert Simmons, 54, received a sentence of life in prison during a hearing at the state Superior Court in Stamford.
Judge Gary White sentenced Simmons to 60 years, which he said is a “life sentence” under state statute, for his conviction of murder in the bludgeoning death of Mehner on Sept. 25, 2019.
Simmons will begin serving that 60-year sentence after he serves the 25-year prison sentence that White imposed for the home invasion and first-degree burglary convictions in the case.
“Obviously, Mrs. Isabella Mehner was well-loved by her family. She was important in the community, and I would say not only does the family lose in this situation, but we all, as a society, lose when someone like Mrs. Mehner, who is energetic, active and cared about people, is lost,” White said. “These were terrible circumstances in which she lost her life. The killing was brutal, heinous, unnecessary and completely unjustified.”
Prior to sentencing Simmons, White listened to what members of Mehner’s family had to say.
Ellen Blanchard, Mehner’s daughter, shared how the trauma of finding her mother bloody and battered at the foot of the basement stairs had left her broken and depressed, and how those emotions are still with her.
“Finding her that night at the bottom of the stairs has been impossible to get over,” said Blanchard as she stood beside her husband.
Blanchard, who testified at Simmons’ trial about finding her mother dead, said that her mother “had the right to live” and Simmons “took that from her.”
“She was the one woman who was there for me every day,” Blanchard said. “I’ll never have that again.”
Though more than a half dozen family members attended Monday’s hearing, others opted to write letters to the judge ahead of the sentencing.
Maryanne Crane, Mehner’s youngest sister, wrote a letter lamenting the “vicious way” her sister was murdered. That day, Crane wrote, their family lost not only a sister, a mother and a grandmother, but also the “keeper of our family history.”
“She loved her family, her house and her gardens,” Crane wrote.
One of Mehner’s greatgrandchildren wrote a letter in which he said he “hoped” Simmons would get the help “he needs” in prison.
“I cannot forgive you for what you did. It was wrong, cruel and there are more words that I will not say. Knowing you were in my house makes me want to leave my house and never come back,” the greatgrandchild wrote.
Kathy Mehner, Isabella Mehner’s daughter-in-law, used her time to speak to call Simmons “a coward” for “preying” on a “defenseless 93-yearold.”
“I only wish that your punishment could be the same you gave Isabella—six bashes to the head and two broken fingers,” Kathy Mehner said.
Criminal defense attorney Kevin Black, who represents Simmons, said during Monday’s sentencing that Simmons still maintains his innocence in Mehner’s death.
Black made a motion for White to acquit his client or to order a new trial; White denied the motion.
With his motion denied, Black instead asked White to consider that Simmons has a history of “serious substance abuse issues” and struggles with bipolar disorder. He also said that Simmons had his own traumatic past, having lost his father to murder when he was 11 years old.
“To a certain extent, he understands what everyone here is going through today,” Black said as he argued for the minimum sentence of 25 years.
Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Moran, however, argued for the maximum penalty against Simmons, citing his “deplorable” actions on that fateful night in September 2019.
“This was a bludgeoning in her own home,” Moran said. “This was all over a beer and a cigarette and maybe a few dollars.”
In her closing argument during Simmons’ trial, Moran said Simmons was the only person seen going into 93-year-old Isabella Mehner’s house the day she was killed. Eight minutes later, he left the home after having struck Mehner “over and over and over again” on the head and leaving her dead at the foot of her basement stairs, where she would be discovered by her daughter hours later.
Simmons later told police he had gone to the house to ask for money for a beer and cigarette, though he claims Mehner was still alive when he left the home.
After Simmons was sentenced Monday, nearly two dozen friends and family, along with various Stamford police officers who attended, convened outside the courtroom. There was a mix of satisfaction at the sentence and apprehension at a possible appeal in the case.
Following Monday’s sentencing, Black signaled that Simmons is likely to appeal his conviction.
“I think a case of this magnitude is always appealed,” he said.
Blanchard, when asked if she was satisfied with Simmons’ sentence, said that the result was bittersweet.
After everything, the lengthy investigation and a trial that made her relive the worst day of her life, Blanchard said there was little to no closure to be gained from the sentence.
“I’m glad he got 85 years, but I wish there was a death penalty — that’s what my mother got,” she said.