A Uber passenger was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the 2022 killing of driver, 38-year-old mother Christina Spicuzza.
The family of Spicuzza said they “showed mercy” on her killer by requesting he not be given the death penalty for the senseless slaying.
Calvin Crew, aged 25, received a life sentence without the possibility of parole at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh for the murder of a mother of four, as reported by CBS News.
Spicuzza’s family read impact statements to the court despite the killer not being in attendance for his sentencing.
“You should have the death penalty, but we showed mercy,” Spicuzza’s mother, Cindy Spicuzza, said.
“You executed her. No mercy, no remorse. It was abhorrent. It was murder.”
The family of Spicuzza requested that Crew be spared the death penalty, and with the trial’s commencement earlier this year, prosecutors declared that they would not pursue a capital punishment sentence.
Spicuzza’s life fiancé, Brandon Marto, unleashed on Crew in his statement for not having the courage to attend his sentencing.
“No reason other than a coward. A coward who couldn’t be here today to face this,” he said.
“Christy was everything for my family. I was lost, out of control. She saw something in me.”
Marto also told the judge he hoped Crew would “rot and burn in prison.”
The convicted murderer was also slapped with 13 to 26 years for kidnapping and robbery charges during sentencing.
Spicuzza had picked up Crew, wearing a dark hoodie with a mask, at around 9 p.m. on Feb. 10, 2022, while driving for Uber.
However, about 10 minutes into the ride, the killer was caught on dashcam footage putting a gun to the back of her head.
“You’ve got to be joking,” she said, before realizing the severity of the situation.
Crew told her to “keep driving” as Spicuzza pleaded, “Come on, I have a family,” the video shows.
“I’m begging you. I have four kids,” Spicuzza said.
“I got a family too,” Crew told her. “Now drive.”
Throughout the drive, Spicuzza begged Crew to remove the gun from her head multiple times.
“Please take that off of me,” she pleaded.
“Do what I say and everything will be all right,” Crew told her.
The video ended after he noticed the camera and grabbed it from the dashboard.
The mother of four’s body was found two days later in a wooded area in Monroeville with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Crew was arrested days later and was charged with criminal homicide, robbery and tampering with evidence.
Following his apprehension, Crew claimed to police that after his Uber journey with Spicuzza concluded, he exited the car and subsequently caught a bus back to Pitcairn; however, video surveillance contradicted his story, revealing he neither boarded nor disembarked from any bus.
Police said GPS records showed she had driven through several neighborhoods with Crew allegedly in the backseat.
Police later found Spicuzza’s dashboard camera around where she picked up Crew.
Crew also received a text from his girlfriend, Tanaya Mullen, that said “[I’m] not going to jail if we get caught,” according to the complaint obtained by The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
During his sentencing Monday, Crew’s defense attorney said that the 25-year-old convicted murderer “lived a childhood surrounded by violence and neglect,” according to CBS News.
His lawyers have indicated that he will appeal his conviction and maintain his innocence.
