Victim's relatives vow to keep killer behind bars forever

(Globe file photo)

By John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

Roberto Mulero was sentenced to life in prison today for the 2005 murder of a Liberian immigrant after the victim's relatives vowed to fight any parole efforts and make sure he stays behind bars forever.

"Your face will never see the sunlight again as along as I am alive,'' said Festus Kromah, the uncle of Dakermu "Eugene" Kollie, who was killed at a party on Colonial Avenue in Dorchester on Dec. 18, 2005.

Mulero was convicted of second-degree murder by a Suffolk Superior Court jury. Prosecutors alleged that he stabbed Kollie because Kollie had gotten in an argument with Mulero's sister. Prosecutors said that after the stabbing Mulero handed the knife to an associate and spat on his victim.

Relatives told Suffolk Superior Court Judge Regina Quinlan today that they had fled civil war in Liberia and moved to the United States to raise children in a safe environment only to see the 23-year-old lose his life in a senseless attack. Kromah, Kollie's uncle, spoke to Mulero directly, calling him an "idiot'' for tossing away his own freedom.

The victim’s stepfather, Ernest Troh, and mother Towon Troh, said they have been devastated by the murder. Towon Troh, who works in a North Shore hospice, described herself as a Christian and said she took no joy in Mulero being sent to prison.

"I hope this will be a means of making yourself available to God,'' Towon Troh said. "It has not been easy for me.''

Mulero faced his sentence with only his defense attorney, Robert M. Griffin, on his side. He did not speak on his own behalf and was sentenced by Quinlan to the mandatory life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 15 years.

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