A Long Island man has been sentenced to 40 years to life for fatally shooting a 33-year-old mother in a parking lot nearly two years ago.
In June, a Suffolk County jury found 32-year-old Anthony Santiesteban, of Centereach, guilty of second-degree murder and related offenses in the killing of East Patchogue mother Marina Thompson on Oct. 29, 2022.
According to prosecutors, surveillance video captured Santiesteban and the victim “engaging in a conversation” next to his Jeep Cherokee in a parking lot in Coram. The defendant was then seen following Thompson into a fenced area at the rear of the lot.
After a gunshot was heard in the recording, just after 1 a.m., Santiesteban was filmed “walking out of the fenced area with a semi-automatic handgun in his hand,” entering his vehicle and leaving the scene.
Approximately 20 minutes later, police located the victim “with a gunshot wound to her face, lying in a pool of blood.”
Thompson was taken to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.
The DA’s office told Patch they “believe it was a random encounter.”
In November 2022, investigators recovered a “loaded and defaced 9 mm handgun” from Santiesteban’s bedroom. Ballistics testing confirmed the bullet casing found in the parking lot came from the same gun found in his room, officials said.
“This defendant deliberately took the life of Martina Thompson, whose children will now have to live without their mother,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney said Thursday in a news release.
“Murder does not just end one life, it devastates families, friends, and entire communities,” he said. “While no punishment can ever truly compensate for the loss of a loved one, this sentence ensures the defendant will face severe consequences for this grievous act and will no longer pose a danger to the public.”