Law&Crime Sidebar - ‘Preppy Killer’ Robert Chambers Is Out Of Prison — Everything We Know and What's Next

Episode Date: August 1, 2023

Robert Chambers — known as the “Preppy Killer” — was just released from prison nearly 40 years after he strangled a teen girl in Central Park. Chambers only spent 15 years in prison for the murder — but was most recently behind bars for drug and assault charges. The Law&Crime Network’s Jesse Weber discusses what’s next for the convicted killer with retired NYPD detective Mike Alcazar.Listen to Law&Crime's Sidebar Podcast on Apple & Spotify:Apple: https://apple.co/3wMgRgBSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3wITe7b Hosts:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberAngenette Levy: https://twitter.com/Angenette5LAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokePodcasting - Sam GoldbergVideo Editing - Michael Deininger Guest Booking - Alyssa FisherSocial Media Management - Kiera BronsonSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoFor Licensing Inquiries, Please Contact: [e-mail]&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeLAW&CRIME NETWORK PODCASTS: https://lawandcrime.com/podcasts/See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondry Plus in the Wondery app Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Agent Nate Russo returns in Oracle 3, Murder at the Grandview, the latest installment of the gripping Audible Original series. When a reunion at an abandoned island hotel turns deadly, Russo must untangle accident from murder. But beware, something sinister lurks in the grand. View Shadows. Joshua Jackson delivers a bone-chilling performance in this supernatural thriller that

will keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. I was responsible for her death. There's no question about that. You admitted guilt, but you did not intend to kill her. I don't believe I intended to kill her at all. It was an accident. The infamous preppy killer, Robert Chambers, who killed a girl in New York Central Park in the 80s, is out of prison. We break down the case and discuss what may happen next with retired NYPD detective Mike Alcazar. Welcome to Cybar, presented by Law and Crime.

I'm Jesse Weber. Do you all remember Robert Chambers? He was known as the preppy killer. These were events that inspired a made-for-TV movie in 19. 289, 20 years later, it was part of a documentary for AMC called The Prepi Murder, Death in Central Park. He was the man who strangled a teenage girl over 30 years ago, was convicted and sentenced on unrelated drug and assault charges, and now he is out of prison. It's pretty remarkable that this happened. I want to bring in retired NYPD detective Mike Alcazar, who's an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Mike, thanks so much for coming here on Sidebar. We really appreciate it. I want to get into this with you, but I want to actually lay out who Robert Chambers is in the story first. So Robert Chambers, this is a guy who was in and out of prestigious schools. He had a drug habit, good-looking guy from the Upper East Side. They called him preppy for a reason, right? And he was arrested for the murder of 18-year-old prep school student, Jennifer Levin. And her partially nude body was found in Central Park in August 1986.

authorities say that Chambers strangled her to death. According to reporting, Chambers was flirting with Levin at a party at this bar called Dorian's Red Hand. They leave the bar just before dawn. And then Chambers says, after he changed a story a bunch of times, that she died after the two had rough sex. He said that she tied his hands behind his back. I'm going to quote him here, she had his way with him.

And he pushed her off when he says that she heard his private area. she fell she died that's what he says again they believe that he strangled her to death it was strange because he had these scratch marks on his face now let's just start do you remember him i understand you weren't in the force when this was going on but you remember this story right yeah absolutely i'm about the same age i am the same age as robert chambers i was in college at the time and it was a big story that hit new york city so yeah every new yorker that lived in the city at the time was familiar with the story and what was it about it it was the idea of like this clean cut guy but who people thought my gosh he might be a cold-blooded murderer right yeah i think they what sticks

in my mind is how they just portrayed him as like this you know this this this good looking kid and it seemed like when you watch the news most people a lot of women believe them that they didn't think he did they were already willing to release them let him go not prosecute him um i think the media uh had a little bit hand in there because they, you know, they had them all over the covers of the newspapers and magazines as this handsome guy. And I think they pushed the story. They bought it. They believed them. Yeah. And I'm going to get into his trial in a second. But before we came on, you would mention that, you know, Mike Sheehan, who was the Manhattan North Homicide Detective, he responded to that crime scene. He said, quote, I have never seen in my entire career the strangulation marks on her

neck the way I did that day out of the 2000 murders I've investigated, she had all of these half moon marks above the mustache line because she was desperately trying to pull the jacket off of her mouth and nose so she could breathe. What was the, what was the confusion there? Because it definitely looked like he strangled her, but there wasn't a clear consensus as to what happened, right? Yeah. I mean, like Mike said, when he responded to the scene, it looked like a violent struggle. And I think that the detectives at the time to investigate it thought for sure he was going to be, you know, charged with the murder. I mean, he was charged with a murder, but prosecutor for the murder. Again, I think that, again, I think the defense did a good job portraying Jennifer

Levin as the aggressor and that she was taking advantage of Robert Chambers. For some reason, maybe because of his looks, you know, they just bought it. Maybe. Oh, he had a cardinal writing a letter for him, that he was a good student, and had all these people backing him up. And I think at the time, they bought it. They bought it. And I don't think the detectives like, Mike, at the time, God rest his whole, did not buy it, did not buy it at all. It was a violent struggle. It was obvious to him.

And I think some of perhaps the DNA evidence wasn't presented during the trial. And maybe that's why he pled out to the manslaughter. Yeah, yeah. So he goes to trial as a 19-year-old, nine-day trial. This is back in 1988, and the jurors are deadlocked. They can't decide one way or another. And this deal is reached when there's a deadlock. It seems like prosecutors are concerned that there's going to be a mistrial.

So they strike a deal with chambers where he pleads guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter and burglary, so not murder. And he's sentenced to just 15 years in prison. He's actually released on Valentine's Day of All Days, 2003. pretty remarkable that that deal happened, right? Have you ever seen anything like that? I have. I've heard of some cases where, you know, people pled out to a manslaughter case. This was a little bit fantastic because, you know, it was unbelievable that he was only charged.

He pled out to the manslaughter, given the evidence that we know now. I mean, I don't know what happened at the time, but given the evidence we know now, it's incredible that he wasn't, you know, prosecuted for the murder. Well, so he's prosecuted for the murder, but the jurors, when they're interviewed afterward, my understanding is they never discussed an absolute acquittal. They never said he's not guilty. It was my understanding, they were split on what level of criminal culpability was there. What exactly happened? It was clear that he killed him.

But would it be murder, manslaughter? And I think that's really interesting. It makes me wonder, should the deal have been struck? You know, if they were given more time, could they have come back with a murder charge? I guess they had a feeling that the jury wasn't going to come to the conclusion that they wanted. My gut feeling is that the jury probably partially believed Chambers' story. So I think they settled for this manslaughter plea deal. And by the way, before this happened with Jennifer Levin, he,

Mr. Chambers had apparently stolen a friend's credit card and he was caught using it for a shopping spree. He had a drug habit. His mom pales him out. She sends him to the Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center in Minnesota to avoid him being criminally charged. He leaves that program, flies back to the city. And I have a quote here from Linda Fairstein, who's the retired head of the Manhattan DA's sex crimes unit. That's the one who prosecuted Chambers in Levin's death. And she was quoted as saying, I have always believed that if he had gone to jail for the credit card theft and the thousands of dollars he illegally charged or had stayed for the required amount at time at Hazelden, then Jennifer Levin would have been alive today. What do you think of that statement?

Yeah, 100%. I mean, you know, looking back now, we know that Chambers was a parasite. He used his friends. He regularly stole from his friends. He had a partner crime that was, you know, doing like grand lawsonies and yeah if he was arrested and prosecuted yeah Jennifer Levin could very well be alive today well that that's the part that I'm interested in because we know that he gets out and he doesn't stay out of trouble so the idea here that oh well maybe if he learned his lesson back in the day would he have not uh well he definitely maybe he probably wouldn't have run into Jennifer Levin maybe the timeline would have been different but would he have killed would he have gotten in trouble after he was released from this program because we know

that after he served his time for the killing of Jennifer Levin, four years after his release, he's arrested for selling drugs out of his apartment and also assault, and he's sentenced to 19 years in prison back in 2008. He only ends up serving 15 years at New York's Shagwa Gun Correctional Facility. And as I said, he was just released. Is that surprising to you? Because given everything that his whole criminal career,

The idea that he's out now, is that something that is shocking to you? I mean, yeah, him being released, it wouldn't surprise me at all. And I know some of my colleagues believe so that if he gets back in trouble again and ends up going back to jail, he just seems to be a person that violates laws all the time, even when he was a very young person. perhaps the reason why he hasn't done more is because he's been in jail. And now that he's out, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if he gets jammed up again and arrested again. Because of recidivism, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, you know, what does he doesn't have an occupation, he doesn't have some kind of vocation.

Now he's been in jail his whole life. I wouldn't be surprised me if he goes back into selling drugs and again, being a parasite. living off people, you know, so time will tell. Why do you think he was released early? I mean, he could have been serving the full 19 years. And apparently the reporting is that when he was in prison, there were disciplinary issues. He smuggled in drugs. He, I think, had a shank either smuggled in or that he made out of a razor. It surprises me that he would be released early.

Yeah, he did the 15, right? I think 15 out of the 19 years. You know, he could be a psychopath. Maybe he learned a little bit. He knew how to answer the questions, perhaps, and maybe they bought it. I mean, people seem to like believing this guy, and it wouldn't surprise me if they believe them again, that he's a good guy now, and he's safe to release the society. Somebody bought his story once again.

So he's going to be under post-release supervision until July, 28. If he gets into trouble between now and then, or even after that, what could happen? Could he be sent back to prison for? So if he gets into trouble between now and July 2028, I imagine he could be sent back to prison for the remainder of that term, plus whatever charges he brought up on? I mean, how does it work for him? Because you have to wonder, is he going to get in trouble again after his criminal career? It's criminal record. Yeah, I'm sure he's going to have to meet with a probation officer.

It's probably a condition of his release. He's going to have to get a job. He's going to have to check in. So there's a lot of stipulations to release. And if he violates any of those, they could. Yeah, they could send him right back to finish off the full term of his imprisonment. Do you think he was treated differently than other people? Yeah, I think so.

I mean, you mean from the very beginning, from the way they treated him as a prisoner and how he was charged and how he was portrayed in the news, yeah, absolutely. He had a little bit of privilege because of his looks, his appearances, maybe his age, maybe because he didn't have really a criminal history. I mean, yes, he was stealing from friends, but he wasn't in jail for, you know, convicted. So maybe his age, his good looks, his background, the people supporting him, his friends supporting him. Even some of Jennifer Levin's friends were supporting his character saying he was a quiet, a calm demeanor type personality. So, yeah, I think that all worked to his advantage during his trial.

well i hope he doesn't get into any more trouble i mean really that is just uh i don't mean that for sympathy for him i worry about society you know again the idea of the trouble that he's caused um and i'll just leave this conversation with a quote from ellen levin this is uh jennifer levin's mother she told uh people shortly after uh mr chambers was released uh back in 2003 for the manslaughter charge he said i think what jennifer might be doing what she would look like i think about the grandchildren I won't have. Her dream was to be a designer. And that's gone now. And all that loss runs deep. Mike Alcazar, thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it. Thank you, my friend. All right, everybody, that's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar.

Thank you so much for joining us. Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.