The court said Ricky Colon’s conduct after Rachel Allen’s death showed no remorse.
OSWEGO, N.Y. — A judge sentenced Ricky Colon to 25 years to life in prison after pointing to cellphone videos, a cleanup effort and broken physical evidence in the killing of Rachel Allen.
The sentence, imposed Monday by Oswego County Supreme Court Justice Armen Nazarian, turned a jury’s February verdict into a prison term that could keep Colon incarcerated for decades. Colon, 37, had been convicted of second-degree murder and related felonies in Allen’s July 13, 2024, death. The hearing placed unusual weight on what happened after the killing, when prosecutors said Colon moved Allen’s body, burned her clothes, washed blood from himself and then reported a false overdose.
The recordings were among the most striking pieces of the case because they showed Colon alone inside the home after Allen was dead. Prosecutors said he was covered in blood, crying and speaking incoherently as he recorded a series of videos. In one, Colon claimed he had found his friend dead and said he wanted to call police. In another moment, he said he believed his life was over. The state viewed the videos as evidence of a man trying to distance himself from the killing. A prosecutor called them “extremely bizarre,” and Nazarian later focused on one clip in which Colon said he discovered Allen after waking up from a nap.
Nazarian said the videos did not overcome the evidence found inside the West Schuyler Street residence. The judge said Colon had shown “a complete and absolute lack of remorse,” then described the killing as among the most “brutal and disturbing” crimes he had seen. The court cited an insurance report that said cleaning the scene required more than $20,000 in services. The judge also said Colon “showered over the deceased body,” washing blood off himself and onto Allen. Colon interrupted as Nazarian spoke, using obscenities and saying he had been denied a fair trial because he was not allowed to testify. Deputies then removed him to a holding cell for the rest of the sentencing.
The violence itself remained the foundation of the jury’s verdict. Prosecutors said Colon beat Allen with a cast-iron stove grate at his home at 30 W. Schuyler St. The metal grate broke into several pieces during the attack, according to the state. A medical examiner determined that Allen died from blunt force trauma and documented 58 external injuries and 13 internal injuries. First responders who knew Allen said they could not recognize her because of the severity of the injuries. Those details shaped the judge’s finding that the killing showed extreme cruelty rather than a confused accident, a drug death or a scene Colon merely found.
The first emergency response began as a welfare complaint. Authorities were told an unconscious woman needed medical attention. The Oswego Fire Department arrived before police and reported that Allen was dead. An investigation followed with the Oswego Police Department, New York State Police, the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office and the Oswego County District Attorney’s Office. Colon was arrested and charged with murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and tampering with physical evidence. The district attorney’s office later said the jury found him responsible for Allen’s intentional murder.
The defense sought to frame Colon’s life and mental health as central to the sentence. Defense attorney Michael Spano told the court that Colon served during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after returning home. “Judge, he entered the service one person and came back a different person,” Spano said. He also referred to a letter from Colon’s brother that described Colon as happy and smiling before military service and profoundly changed afterward. The argument was limited, however, because the trial court did not allow defense counsel to present the PTSD diagnosis to jurors, despite several attempts.
Prosecutors urged Nazarian not to let that history reduce the punishment. Assistant District Attorney Louis Mannara said Colon had been given the right to counsel, a fair trial and substantial leeway even when he acted out in court. Mannara said Allen received no mercy. “Now I’m asking this court to give him what he deserves,” he said. Prosecutors also rejected Colon’s presentence claim that he gave Allen alcohol to save her from withdrawal symptoms. The court noted that the statement described an effort to help Allen on the same day Colon killed her, and Nazarian said Colon used alcohol and PTSD to shield himself from responsibility.
The structure of the sentence reflected both the murder conviction and the related conduct. Colon received 25 years to life on the murder count, 25 years on the assault count and shorter sentences on the weapon and tampering counts. Nazarian ordered the terms to run concurrently, so the sentences will be served at the same time. Even with concurrent terms, the murder sentence sets the controlling punishment. Colon will not be eligible to seek release until he has served the minimum term, and the life maximum means any later release decision would remain subject to state prison and parole procedures.
The case also left a public record of the investigation’s timeline. Allen was killed on July 13, 2024. Colon was charged after police identified her and developed evidence tying him to the home and the weapon. A jury convicted him in February 2026 after hearing the state’s evidence about the injuries, the broken grate, the videos and the condition of the scene. Sentencing was scheduled for 9 a.m. April 13, 2026, at the Oswego County Public Safety Building on Churchill Road. The sentence was handed down before Nazarian, who had presided over the trial and later described the maximum term as necessary.
Oswego County District Attorney Anthony J. DiMartino Jr. said after the verdict that the result reflected cooperation among police, deputies, state troopers and prosecutors. He also said the verdict would bring justice for Allen and some closure to her family. The sentencing did not answer every question about motive or the full sequence inside the home, but it resolved the central legal question at trial: jurors found Colon guilty of intentionally murdering Allen. The court then found that his actions before and after her death justified the harshest sentence allowed on the murder count.
Ricky Colon’s courtroom removal became the last public scene in the trial court’s handling of the case. Nazarian continued speaking after Colon was taken out, saying the defendant’s refusal to acknowledge his role meant he could not be rehabilitated. Allen’s killing now stands as a closed prosecution unless Colon seeks review in a higher court.
Author note: Last updated May 7, 2026.