Edition: U.S. / Global

Doctor Is Given 25 Years to Life In Wife's Death

Published: November 5, 1992

A Long Island doctor was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison for shooting and strangling his wife.

The doctor, Robert Reza, 48 years old, received the maximum sentence for the murder of his wife, Marilyn. He had admitted shooting her once in the head with a .22-caliber rifle while she slept and strangling her with a necktie. A jury last month rejected his insanity defense and found him guilty of second-degree murder.

Asking for leniency from Acting Justice Michael Mullen of State Supreme Court, Dr. Reza read from several poems by William Butler Yeats, one of the judge's favorite writers, before making a statement.

"I am sorry for what happened to Marilyn, and I am sorry for my daughters," Dr. Reza said. "I couldn't kill myself, so I functionally killed myself," he said. Daughters Request Leniency

Dr. Reza's daughters, Kristyn, 18, and Elizabeth, 21, pleaded for the minimum sentence of 15 years to life for their father.

"The court should be forgiving because we know that if our mother was present, she would be forgiving," Kristyn Reza said.

Dr. Reza was attending a medical conference in Washington when he flew home, killed his wife of 22 years and then returned to the conference, the prosecutor, Michael Ahearn, said. Dr. Reza's canceled plane tickets and parking lot stubs were used as evidence in the case. The trial began Sept. 10.

Today, Mr. Ahearn demanded the maximum penalty, saying Dr. Reza coolly plotted his wife's murder and then watched her slowly die from a rifle blast before strangling her. Failed to Give Assistance

"If he realized it was a mistake, then why didn't he render assistance, not only as a doctor but as a human being?" Mr. Ahearn said.

A jury deliberated less than six hours before convicting Dr. Reza on Oct. 3.

Dr. Reza's lawyer, Paul Gianelli, had argued that his client was suicidal and succumbed to incredible personal pressure when he attacked his wife on Dec. 12, 1990, in the couple's Bayport home.

Dr. Reza is being held in Suffolk County jail before being assigned to state prison within the next two weeks.