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Congenitally deformed paedophile SPARED the death penalty after he cut off his GPS tracker then stabbed mother to death as she tried to stop him raping her daughter, 10

• David Renz, 30, fatally stabbed librarian Lori Ann Bresnahan as she tried to prevent him from raping her daughter in March 2013

• Renz pleaded guilty to possessing more than 11,000 images of child pornography and 1,100 videos

• While out on bond for the child pornography charges, Renz carjacked the mother and daughter in a Syracuse, New York, parking lot

• Victim's family asked prosecutors not to hold death penalty trial to spare Bresnahan's daughter additional trauma

• Renz's mother said after sentencing she prays for the victim's family every day

By Snejana Farberov - DailyMail.co.uk

May 16, 2014

A New York man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole Friday for raping a girl and killing her mother after cutting off his ankle monitor last year.

David Renz learned his fate in Onondaga County Court after a judge said he hoped the penalty would comfort the victims' family.

The 30-year-old had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, admitting that he carjacked Liverpool librarian Lori Ann Bresnahan and her 10-year-old daughter March 14, 2013.

Renz stabbed and strangled the mother as she tried to stop him from raping her daughter.

He had been under federal monitoring on child pornography charges but cut off his ankle GPS.

Renz was sentenced earlier this year to 30 years in federal prison for possessing more than 11,000 images and 1,100 videos of child pornography.

On Friday, Renz remained motionless and wore a blank expression on his face as his sentence was being read.

Judge Thomas Miller had some harsh words for the defendant, whose behavior last March he characterized as 'despicable,' Syracuse.com reported.

‘One day, you will face another judge. One day when you pass from this earth, another judge will impose a harsher sentence for the absolute evil you committed,’ he said.

Some of the slain librarian’s family members read their impact statements from the stand before the sentencing as Renz's relatives sat in the audience.

‘Nothing, absolutely nothing, prepares you for such a tragedy in your own family,’ Bresnahan's cousin Jim O'Hara said.

O'Hara, a former reporter with The Post-Standard, vividly described in his six-page handwritten statement the moment he found out that his relative had been brutally murdered, saying that he felt as cold 'as the most brutal of winter days.'

Kathleen Renz, the convicted killer’s mother, spoke to reporters after her son's sentencing, saying that she prays every day for Lori Bresnahan and her daughter.

Mrs Renz added that she was relieved to learn that federal prosecutors will not seek capital punishment for her son.

'It's a great burden lifted,' the mother said.

The victim’s family pleaded with officials not to hold a death penalty trial to spare Bresnahan’s daughter additional trauma.

The shocking murder of Lori Breshnahan - and the rape of her young daughter - occurred while Renz was awaiting trial for the child pornography charges, and was confined to his home and required to wear a monitoring device.

On March 14, 2013 - just six weeks after he'd been arrested for possessing child pornography - Renz removed his required electronic monitoring device and drove to the Great Northern Mann in Clay, New York, a suburb of Syracuse.

Once at the mall, Renz parked his car and walked around the parking lot, where he found Breshnahan - a school librarian - and her daughter getting into their vehicle.

Renz then forced his way into Breshahan's car using an air pistol he claimed was a real gun and forced her to drive to a remote area of the mall's parking lot where he bound both of his victims and - using a knife to cut a hole in her clothes - raped the young girl.

Prosecutors said Renz was trying to use cable ties to bind the woman to a headrest in her car when she fought back and shouted for the girl to bolt from the vehicle.

As the girl ran off and was rescued by a passing motorist, her mother was strangled and repeatedly stabbed in the head and chest, officials said. Renz was captured by police shortly after.

Weeks after the attack, a report by a federal judge found that the officers failed to do monthly checks on Renz that would have included inspection of the bracelet. Federal probation officers in Syracuse who were monitoring Renz were fired or demoted.

Renz pleaded guilty to the murder and rape charges last year.

Authorities say that several of the child pornography videos found in Renz's possession depicted acts similar to the rape and murder for which Renz pleaded guilty.

'Let the defendant's other victims not be forgotten,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher said during Renz's child pornography sentencing hearing in March, according to Syracuse.com.

'Each and every child in each and every one of the defendant's 11,000 images and 1,100 videos for which he stands convicted, every single one of those children was used by David Renz to fuel his twisted interest in the exploitation of children. Every one of them is also his victim.'

Fletcher asked for a sentence of 30 to 70 years, and asked that any sentence the judge imposed would run consecutively with whatever sentence Renz gets for Breshahan's murder.

Renz's attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Randi Bianco, asked for a sentence within the sentencing guidelines of 19 to 24 years, citing the difficult life Renz has suffered as the result of a facial deformity.

Renz was born without the lower half of his left jaw and part of his cheekbone - a hereditary condition that would come to dominate his and his family's lives.

The man's father, brother and sister all had the facial deformity but it was more pronoucnded in him, requiring multiple jaw-lengthening surgeries that drained his parents' already limited resources.

In school, his friends recalled that Renz had to cover the hole in his neck from a tracheotomy so he could be heard, drawing bewildered stares from his classmates.

Those who knew him as a child described Renz as a bright kid who loved computers and was good at math, science and social studies, but he was also a loner who was always picked last for athletic activities and group work.

Convicted murderer David Renz gets 30 years in prison for child pornography

By John O'Brien - Syracuse.com

March 19, 2014

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A federal judge this morning sentenced admitted murderer and rapist David Renz to 30 years in prison for possessing more than 11,000 images of child pornography and 1,100 child porn videos.

U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue went above the 19 to 24 years behind bars recommended by federal sentencing guidelines.

Renz pleaded guilty in federal court last year to the child pornography charges. He pleaded guilty last year in Onondaga County Court to murdering Liverpool school district librarian Lori Bresnahan and raping a 10-year-old girl March 14, 2013, six weeks after he was released pending trial on the child porn charges.

Renz, 30, of Cicero, dismantled his electronic ankle bracelet, went to Great Northern Mall in Clay and abducted the two victims before taking them to a remote area and attacking them.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher asked Mordue to drastically go beyond the recommendation, citing the "sheer evil" of his crimes after he was released from jail.

In court this morning, Fletcher's voice cracked as she talked about Renz's vast number of victims.

"Let the defendant's other victims not be forgotten," she said. "Each and every child in each and every one of the defendant's 11,000 images and 1,100 videos for which he stands convicted, every single one of those children was used by David Renz to fuel his twisted interest in the explotation of children. Every one of them is also his victim."

Renz, wearing handcuffs, leg irons and a beige jail uniform, declined to say anything when the judge offered him a chance to speak.

His mother was in the courtroom, but declined to talk to reporters.

Two former Liverpool school district employees, Kathy Rawlins and Carol Ross, attended the sentencing because they wanted to be there for Bresnahan.

Renz's crimes have made people more cautious, Rawlins said. They also emboldened people to watch out for others, she said.

"It can only make us stronger, more protective," Rawlins said.

Renz's attacks were only about five minutes from Ross' home, she said.

"Everybody in my neighborhood is being very cautious," she said. "You never know if someone else will come up with the same idea. Just more keeping your doors locked and watching where you're going and watching getting in and out of your car."

Fletcher asked Mordue to sentence Renz to 30 to 70 years behind bars, and to have any federal sentence run consecutive to whatever sentence Renz gets in county court.

Renz is scheduled to be sentenced May 16 in Onondaga County Court on the convictions of murder and predatory sexual assault of a child. He's expected to get life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Federal prosecutors are evaluating whether to seek the death penalty against Renz by indicting him on a carjacking charge.

If the feds do decide to pursue the death penalty, Renz would be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea in county court to the murder and sexual assault.

His lawyer on the child porn case, Assistant Federal Public Defender Randi Bianco, asked Mordue to stay within the sentencing guidelines of 19 to 24 years in prison. She cited the difficult life Renz has led because of a severe facial deformity.

Will sad life story earn Clay killer David Renz sympathy from Federal Judge?

By Michael Benny - Cnycentral.com

January 22, 2014

SYRACUSE -- New court filings by an attorney for Clay killer David Renz paint a pathetic life story his legal team hopes will sway a judge. The paperwork, filed on the hope that it will result in a lower sentence in Renz's child pornography case detail his life-long struggle with a genetic facial deformity. Renz's attorneys want him sentenced within federal sentencing guidelines, but the judge could impose more than the 19 to 24 years called for.

Last October, Renz pleaded guilty to a six count indictment related to possession of child porn. Renz was on pretrial release in that case when he slipped out of his electronic monitoring device and killed Liverpool librarian Lori Bresnahan and raped a young girl. Renz stalked and abducted the woman and child from the parking lot of Great Northern Mall in Clay in March of 2013.

In the legal brief, Renz's attorney writes that his "life has been plagued by physical pain and deformities that are unimaginable to the average person." Renz was born without most of his lower jaw. "As a new-born he had serious breathing and feeding problems that necessitated the insertion of tracheotomy and feeding tubes. The severities of his feeding problems were readily apparent as David was below the fifth percentile for height and weight in his first year of life," the paperwork indicates.

"David suffered from pain from his jaw for many years. In order to widen his jaw, he was required to do painful physical therapy exercises for his jaw 2-3 times per week. David's mother performed the physical therapy until he was old enough to do it himself. She describes the pain David suffered as "excruciating." There were other physical issues that manifested themselves throughout the years as a result of David's condition. He had significant bilateral hearing loss since the age of two that still requires him to wear hearing aids," according to the court filing.

Renz's mother says his facial deformity caused people to stare at him all the time. When her son was 6 or 7 years old, Kathy Renz recalls having a meal at a Wendy's restaurant: "Dave had problems chewing food and would "suck it in," making noises. A man and his two children approached the table where Kathy and David were sitting and told Kathy "don't bring that kid out in public if he can't eat like a human being." Kathy tried to explain that David was disabled. However, the man continued to loudly rant on about how David should not be brought out in public places," the court papers say.

Renz's legal team says he endured bullying and social isolation throughout his life and was often the target of bullies and was shunned by many other students. "He was always the last one to be picked for anything at school, whether that be for gym teams or for a partner for a school assignment," the court papers reveal.

In the court filing, Renz's mother is painted as providing a difficult home. "She was a hoarder," the paperwork says. "The house was cluttered with belongings everywhere. There came a point when no one could eat on the dining room table because of "all the stuff" that was "piled on it." The hoarding got worse after David's father passed away. This caused David much distress because his mother never allowed him to invite friends over to their home. He did not have many friends when he was young, but the few friends he had, he did not see outside of school or church," the brief states.

The paperwork also reveals Renz and his mother spent years volunteering for Vera House. The agency works to stop domestic and sexual violence. Renz may be the most notorious sexual criminal in Central New York history.

Vera House says Renz was never involved in any direct outreach for the agency. The court documents indicate he and his mother wrapped gifts for the agency. Vera House says he never had direct contact with anyone using its services.

New York man pleads guilty to killing woman and raping her 10-year-old daughter

David Renz first admitted in court that he had carjacked the two in March, stabbing and strangling the mother to death. He was expected to be sentenced to life in prison without parole although that can be taken off the table if prosecutors decide to seek the death penalty.

The Associated Press

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — An upstate New York man who cut off his electronic monitoring bracelet, then raped a 10-year-old girl and killed her mother pleaded guilty Wednesday to murder and sex charges.

David Renz admitted in county court that he carjacked the two on March 14, stabbing and strangling the mother to death as she tried to stop him from raping her daughter.

Renz had been under federal monitoring after a child pornography charge and a federal judge was sharply critical of the way probation officers failed to keep track of him.

Renz, 29, pleaded guilty to state charges of first-degree murder and sexual assault against a child. He was expected to be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but the plea bargain can be withdrawn if the federal government seeks the death penalty.

Reading stiffly from a statement as his lawyer looked over his shoulder, Renz described the crimes and said he did not "fully understand" what led him to attack the mother and child.

"But even if I did, an explanation is not a justification nor does it lessen my responsibility for what I've done," he said, at times stumbling over the words.

"I'm truly sorry for my actions and I am prepared to accept the consequences for them," he said. "I hope that by pleading guilty, I will be able to bring closure for the victim and her family."

Authorities say Renz attacked the woman, a school librarian, and her daughter after they left a gymnastics class at a mall in the Syracuse suburb of Clay. Police said he used an air pistol to force the woman to drive her car to a remote section of the mall's parking lot, where he bound both of them and raped the girl.

Prosecutors say Renz was trying to use cable ties to bind the woman to a headrest in her car when she fought back and shouted for the girl to bolt from the vehicle. As the girl ran off and was rescued by a passing motorist, her mother was strangled and repeatedly stabbed in the head and chest, officials said. Renz was captured by police shortly after.

The Associated Press generally does not identify victims of sex crimes and has not identified the woman to protect the identity of girl.

Hours before the attack, Renz removed and quickly reassembled an electronic bracelet so monitors didn't immediately realize he'd taken it off, authorities said. He was ordered to wear the device as a condition for being released from jail after his arrest in January on federal child pornography charges.

Weeks after the attack, a report by a federal judge found that the officers failed to do monthly checks on Renz that would have included inspection of the bracelet. Federal probation officers Syracuse who were monitoring Renz were fired or demoted.