Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today announced that Rhode Island Superior Court Justice Francis J. Darigan, Jr., imposed three consecutive life sentences on Raymond Clements, formerly of 38 Comstock Parkway in Pawtucket, for the 2007 murders of Heather Jesus and Amanda Sousa at 375 Plainfield Street, Providence.
Clements was found guilty by a jury on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree arson and one count of conspiracy. September 22, 2010 after a 12-day trial, presided over by Superior Court Justice Francis J. Darigan, Jr.
After the sentencing, Attorney General Kilmartin said, “Raymond Clements has no regard for human life. He and his co-conspirator viciously and violently ended the lives of two young women, tried to cover up their senseless act, and ran cowardly from the law. While today’s sentencing ends this phase of this horrific tragedy, the pain and loss for the Jesus and Sousa families continues.”
Clements was sentenced to a life sentence for each count of first-degree murder and a life sentence for one count of first-degree arson, to run consecutive. In addition, Clements was sentenced to 10 years for one count of conspiracy to run concurrent.
Assistant Attorney General Bethany Macktaz and Special Assistant Attorney General Craig V. Montecalvo presented 22 witnesses at trial, including Anthony Carter, Clements’s co-conspirator who agreed to testify against Clements, and Carter’s sister. She testified that while staying at Clements’s home on June 14, 2007, she saw her brother and Clements entering the home during the early morning hours wearing clothes that were covered in blood. She also testified that she heard her brother and Clements tell Clements’s wife that they had just killed two girls.
Anthony Carter testified that he and Clements went to the Plainfield Street apartment after midnight on June 14, 2007, where once inside, Carter strangled Heather Jesus while Clements stabbed Amanda Sousa. After committing the murders, Carter and Clements set their victims and the apartment on fire using WD40 and perfume as accelerants.
The crimes remained unsolved until Carter was apprehended in Florida after committing 10 armed robberies in Polk and Hillsborough Counties from June 15 until his June 29 arrest. Carter admitted to the Florida robberies and also acknowledged that he and Clements had killed Amanda Sousa and Heather Jesus in Providence. After providing an additional statement to Providence Police detectives who traveled to Florida, Carter was indicted on murder, arson and conspiracy. He pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for the murders of Jesus and Sousa before Superior Court Judge Robert D. Krause on Jan. 16, 2009. He is serving 53 years in Florida, after which he will begin serving two consecutive life sentences in Rhode Island. As part of his disposition, Carter agreed to testify against Clements.
On April 28, 2008, Judge Krause also sentenced Clements to 35 years, with 15 years to serve at the ACI and 20 years suspended with probation, for the armed robbery of a sales clerk and customer of the Pawtuxet Village Antiques shop, which took place just days before the murder. Carter and Clements fled with more than $700 that they robbed from the victims in that case. Clements turned himself in to Providence Police on June 29, 2007, the same day Carter was arrested in Florida. Providence Police Det. Casey Moffett led the investigation.