The notorious Gary Lee Sampson, who was sentenced to the death penalty in connection with a killing spree across New England has died.
The 62-year-old was reported dead at the medical center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Missouri, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons database.
In 2001, the two men he was convicted of killing during carjackings from Massachusetts were Phillip McCloskey and Jonathan Rizzo as well as Robert “Eli” Whitney from New Hampshire.
He was sentenced to death in 2003 but was later granted a retrial because it was found that one of the jurors in the first trial lied during jury selection. Sampson was again sentenced to death in 2017.
Michael Rizzo, whose son Jonathan was killed by Sampson, told Boston 25 he learned about the death of Sampson Wednesday, through an email from federal officials.
“We are aware of the news that Gary Lee Sampson has died,” acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell
for the District of Massachusetts said in a statement today. “Our thoughts are with the Rizzo, McCloskey and Whitney families today. Their resilience is extraordinary.”