A Boston man, David Robinson, age 52, was sentenced to 15 years in prison today after pleading guilty to the voluntary manslaughter of 33-year-old Richard Ghiozzi, the Suffolk District Attorney's office reported. The incident, which took place in the Mass and Cass area of Boston in January 2021, resulted in Ghiozzi's death following a stabbing in a Boston Fire Department parking lot on Southampton Street.
During the sentencing at Suffolk Superior Court, Judge Mary Ames handed down a precise sentence stretching no less than 15 years and topping out at 15 years and a day. According to information obtained by the Suffolk District Attorney's Office, Robinson's co-defendant, Robert Jamison, was reported to have also participated in the attack, subsequently stomping on Ghiozzi's head after he had been wounded.
The court heard a victim impact statement from Ghiozzi's mother, Janet Ghiozzi, who described the significant loss experienced by her family. "David Robinson, you did not just take Richie’s life that day, you took everything from us. Our family, sense of security, laughs and potential. It’s so hard to find words impactful enough to describe the devastation you have caused on my entire family. What you stole from us is not replaceable. All I have left in my broken heart and soul are the memories that you will never get to take away," Janet Ghiozzi's statement, according to the district attorney's release.
District Attorney Kevin Hayden referred to the statement as "heartbreaking" and empathized with the perpetual heartache survivors endure post-trial, "It is always a saddening experience to hear the voices of loved ones, particularly parents of murder victims, when they finally get to express their loss and anguish at the conclusion of a case. While the cases against defendants may conclude, the loss felt by survivors is eternal," he told the Suffolk District Attorney's office. Meanwhile, the case against Jamison is marked for a scheduled hearing on November 5.