April 18, two years after College graduate student Alison Meloy was murdered in her townhouse off of Hydraulic Road, 20-year-old Albemarle County resident Jamie Jovan Poindexter pleaded guilty to capital murder and robbery in the case.
A circuit court judge sentenced him to two life terms in prison without the possibility of parole.
"It was a horrible, horrible murder," Albemarle County Commonwealth Attorney Jim Camblos said. "He has no chance of parole, ever -- he will die in prison."
The prosecution and defense said they reached a compromise in the case, mutually deciding a jury would likely find Poindexter guilty of murder but not hand down the death penalty due to his diminished reasoning abilities.
"Everybody agreed this would be the fair way to handle the case," said Jim Hingeley, Charlottesville and Albemarle County public defender.
The Supreme Court ruled last year that executing a person judged to be mentally retarded violates the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Camblos said Poindexter's IQ of 72 put him on the cusp of this distinction.
"Given his mental status, I don't believe an Albemarle County jury would give this man the death penalty," Camblos said.
New information about the April 26, 2001 murder surfaced in the hearing Friday, including the motive for the stabbing. Poindexter, a neighbor of Meloy's, wanted transportation to a party following the Dave Matthews Band concert held at Scott Stadium that day, Camblos said.
"He wanted to go to the after-party, so he stabbed her 48 times and stole her car," Camblos said.
Although Poindexter was charged within three months of the murder, the hearing was postponed until Poindexter was judged mentally stable. He was hospitalized for over a year.
Hingeley declined to comment on Poindexter's reaction to the hearing, citing attorney-client privilege, but added his own inferences.
"You would have to assume he feels good about it, because he accepted responsibility and pleaded guilty knowing this was the outcome," Hingeley said. "He believed that this was in his best interest."
Meloy's parents traveled from out of state to attend the trial. Camblos said they supported the decision not to seek the death penalty.
"I've spent a long time talking with the father and the mother of the victim," he said. "She's a very Christian lady and a very fine lady and she's in agreement with my decision, as is the father."
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