The life sentences for the first degree murder convictions of Adam Lee Hall carry no possibility of parole.
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SPRINGFIELD — As he sentenced Adam Lee Hall to three consecutive life sentences on Monday for a 2011 triple murder in Berkshire County, Superior Court Judge C. Jeffrey Kinder said the case showed depravity and disregard for human dignity "beyond my experience."
"Over the course of years David Glasser was stalked, intimidated, beaten, framed, abducted, murdered and mutilated," Kinder said at Hall's sentencing. "His friends Edward Frampton and Robert Chadwell were shot, stabbed, dismembered [...] simply because they had the misfortune of being there when Mr. Glasser got abducted."
Kinder also imposed two more consecutive sentences after the life sentences: 12 to 15 years for armed robbery followed by eight to 10 years for kidnapping.
A life sentence for a first-degree murder conviction is mandatory, and carries no possibility of parole.
A jury in Hampden Superior Court on Friday convicted Hall of the three murders and 12 other crimes after three weeks of testimony and about 17 hours of deliberation.
The murders were committed in August 2011, weeks before Glasser was scheduled to testify against Hall.
Glasser and his roommate, Edward Frampton, and their friend, Robert Chadwell, all of Pittsfield, disappeared on Aug. 28, 2011.
Prosecutors said Hall was a ranking member of the local Hells Angels chapter when he, David Chalue, 46, of North Adams, and Caius Veiovis, 32, of Pittsfield, kidnapped the three victims from Frampton's Pittsfield home and fatally shot them. The victims' dismembered bodies were found in Becket nearly two weeks later.
The defendants are being tried separately, with Chalue's trial slated for April 15 and Veiovis' trial sometime in June.
In sentencing Hall, Kinder said, "The defendant targeted David Glasser in part because of who he was. He (Glasser) suffered from a mental disability which made him particularly vulnerable."
"In addition to preying upon the disabled, [Hall] surrounded himself with young women whom he could control and direct into criminal activity for his own benefit," Kinder said.
Hall did not show any visible emotion during the sentencing.
Erin Forbush, an outreach worker at SeviceNet, gave a victim statement on behalf of Frampton. She got to know both Frampton and his roommate Glasser through her work, helping Frampton live independently in the community.
"I am grateful to have been given the opportunity to get to know Edward Frampton and David Glasser, victims of an atrocious and senseless crime," she said.
Forbush testified at Hall's trial, saying she discovered Frampton and Glasser were missing. She said Frampton had been put in Belchertown State Hospital at age 5 because he was hard to control, and he spent many years there.
"Ed (Frampton) enjoyed talking with others, had a fun, yet quirky sense of humor which brought joy to most people he encountered. Ed was someone who liked to take care of others," she said.
She continued: "Ed's death leaves a very personal loss for all who loved him and to those that were touched by Ed's love and humor. But on a much larger advocacy / educational scale, Ed's death also leaves a gap in the understanding of the early disability world."
She said Frampton spoke at some trainings of social workers on life at the Belchertown State School and the issues he faced in his life.
Berkshire District Attorney David Capeless said Hall's crimes against the three defenseless men were loathsome, depraved and barbaric.
Hall deserves "no more mercy or consideration" than he gave to his victims, Capeless said.
State Trooper William Scott spoke for himself and others from law enforcement on behalf of Glasser.
Scott said, "Many people would say his life was simple, but it was his life to live the way he needed."
He said Glasser would help people who needed a ride. When his truck was taken (by Hall) unlawfully, Scott said, he asked police for help. He was grateful when he got his truck back, Scott said.
Defense lawyer Alan J. Black told Kinder there was no need to have any consecutive sentences since the mandatory sentence on first degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Black said Hall has always been polite to him and his staff. He said Hall would have testified if the three separate incidents had been tried separately. The incidents – the 2009 beating of Glasser with a baseball bat, the 2010 attempt to frame Glasser, and the 2011 murders – were tried together in a single trial.
Black didn't specify to which incident Hall would have testified about if there had been separate trials.
Two days last week Hall's mother and sister drove from Ontario to support him, Black said, saying Hall has family who love him.
Black said Hall has a 1997 conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, but other than that he has only motor vehicle offenses.
Ashleye Hall – no relation to Adam Lee Hall – Chadwell's 26-year-old daughter, spoke after the sentencing.
"My kids loved him. I have three kids, 9, 8 and 6. He used to babysit for me," she said.
She said her kids, as upset as they were, were there for her when it happened.
Her father was supposed to come to her house the night he disappeared, she said. Instead, several days later she got a call from police asking what she knew about her father's whereabouts.
During the time he was missing, she said, "It was bad. I was a mess at work." Her colleagues at the nursing home where she works were also "there for me."
When her father and the other men's remains were found, she said, "It couldn't register at all, because who would do something like that?"
What has helped her through the years is therapy – "just talking to about it" – and family.
She said she felt hatred toward Hall, adding, "[I]t makes me sick, the smirking."
Kinder said Hall's actions showed "he repeatedly sought to obstruct justice" by trying to eliminate Glasser as a witness.
"This criminal conduct therefore struck at the very heart of our system of justice. These I consider to be aggravating factors. I see no mitigating factors," Kinder said.
Carol Chadwell Smith, Robert Chadwell's sister, gave a victim impact statement to Kinder on Friday.
After the sentencing Monday, she said after she heard the verdict she expected to be uplifted. Now, she said, she finds she is just exhausted.
She said some people think Hall deserves a harsher punishment than life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Smith said of Hall, "It's crazy to say but I don't wish this man any harm. What he did to my brother and friends – he's a monster. But still in a sense I can't bring myself to wish harm upon him. Some people might say I'm crazy for thinking like that, but that's who I am."
Smith said she can tell Hall is not sorry for what he did by the look on his face, which she said showed no remorse.
"He sat there smirking, acting like he was in a photo shoot when the cameras are clicking at him. Really, who does that? Someone without a heart and a soul, right?" she said.
Chalue's trial is scheduled in Hampden Superior Court. The case was moved to Hampden County because defense lawyers said pretrial publicity in Berkshire County would deny their clients a fair trial.