A bunk bed with striped linen behind bars (Photo by RDNE Stock project)
0
0
WORCESTER – Steven M. Foley, the Level 3 sex offender who murdered Cynthia Webb in 2017, was sentenced to life in prison by Worcester Superior Court Judge Daniel Wrenn today.
Foley, 62, formerly of Northborough, was found guilty of second-degree murder by a jury last week after a multiday trial in Worcester Superior Court, said Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. in a statement Tuesday afternoon. The jury also found Foley guilty of malicious damage to a motor vehicle.
The murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence with the possibility of parole in 25 years. In addition, Judge Wrenn sentenced Foley to serve 12 to 15 years in prison for the malicious damage conviction, which will be served concurrently with the life sentence.
According to the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry database, from 1982 to 2013, Foley had been convicted of five rape-related charges: rape of child with force (two counts: one in 1982, the other in 1986), rape (one count in 1985), and indecent assault and battery on a person aged 14 or older (one count in 2013). The rape charges placed Foley into the Level 3 sex offender category, which – according to Mass.gov – means he is very likely to reoffend.
Webb, 59, was found deceased in the trunk of her burning car in Hope Cemetery on Webster Street in Worcester on Dec. 12, 2017.
Webb, a Sterling resident and beloved mother, worked as a dancer at Mario’s Showplace, a gentlemen’s club in Webster.
On Dec. 19, 2017, Foley was arrested in a Peabody motel after detectives found surveillance footage of Foley with Webb at Mario’s Showplace before her murder. Investigators also found Webb’s blood in the bedroom of Foley’s Northborough home, which he shared with his then fiancé.
In a victim impact statement delivered to the court Tuesday, Webb’s son Brad said:
“It’s crushing to know that my mother fought so hard and endured so much, just to have her life brutally taken away. The impact my mom, Cindy Webb, had on the world will continue. Anybody who knew my mom loved her. She was a funny, quick-witted, caring, nonjudgmental person and most of all, she was a fighter.”
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Webb’s cause of death was homicidal violence of unknown etiology and the manner was homicide by assault, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said.
“We can only hope Cynthia’s family and loved ones find some closure through this verdict,” Early added in his statement Tuesday. “Our Assistant District Attorneys, Brett Dillon and Tiffany Scanlon, along with the dedicated detectives from the Worcester Police Department, spent countless hours working this case in order to achieve the justice Cynthia deserved. The family was also assisted by our Victim Witness Advocate Maria Deyette, who worked to keep the family informed throughout the duration of this case.”
About Author
