Limo case goes to jury

BY ANN GIVENS | Newsday Staff Writer

October 12, 2006

A Nassau jury began deliberations yesterday in the murder case against Martin Heidgen, as family members of the two people killed in a crash last year on the Meadowbrook Parkway began a nervous vigil outside the courtroom.

Acting State Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof began the morning by explaining to the jury the crimes that Heidgen is charged with. The jury began deliberating just after noon and finished for the day about 4:30 p.m. The judge did not sequester the jurors.

Heidgen, 25, of Valley Stream, is accused of driving drunk the wrong way on the Meadowbrook Parkway, hitting a limousine as it returned from a wedding in Bayville. Killed were the driver, Stanley Rabinowitz, 59, of Farmingdale, and Katie Flynn, 7, of Long Beach, who had been a flower girl in her aunt's wedding.

Honorof explained that if the jury finds Heidgen criminally liable for Flynn's and Rabinowitz's deaths, there are three charges they can consider.

The most serious is second-degree murder, Honorof said. To find him guilty of that, they must believe that he was in a depraved state of mind as he drove in the wrong direction on the highway and didn't care whether he killed anyone. If convicted of that, Heidgen could serve 25 years to life in prison.

If the jury finds Heidgen not guilty of second-degree murder, it can consider a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter, which would mean they believed he killed them while acting recklessly. That carries a maximum of 5 to 15 years in prison.

If the jury finds Heidgen not guilty of both murder and manslaughter, it can consider the charge of criminally negligent homicide, which carries a maximum sentence of 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison.

Heidgen also is charged with assault, reckless endangerment and drunken driving, because prosecutors say he seriously hurt people who survived the crash and could have hurt others he passed on the road.

Heidgen's lawyer, Ste- phen LaMagna, of Garden City, said his client deserves punishment but is not guilty of murder.

Neil Flynn, Katie's father, said he's anxious to hear the jury agrees with him that it was murder. "My life will be relatively the same no matter what happens. But I would like the validation of the jury."

Charges in the limo trial:

Martin Heidgen is charged with two counts of second-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 25 years to life in prison.

If the jury finds Heidgen not guilty, it can consider a lesser charge of second-degree manslaughter. The maximum for that crime is 5 to 15 years in prison.

If the jury finds Heidgen not guilty of both murder and manslaughter, it can consider the charge of criminally negligent homicide, for which the maximum sentence is 1 1/3 to 4 years.

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Limo case goes to jury

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