‘I give you my word, I will never reoffend’: 88-year-old man, paroled twice for killing girlfriends, sentenced to life in 3rd woman’s death
06/12/2026 12:00 pm PDT
NEW YORK (TCN) -- An 88-year-old man who was convicted in May of the 2022 murder and dismemberment of a woman has been sentenced to life in prison.
Surveillance footage showed 68-year-old Susan Leyden entering Harvey Marcelin’s apartment on Feb. 27, 2022. Marcelin was seen on the footage wheeling a shopping cart with a large bag inside, and the dismembered remains of Leyden were found the next day. Marcelin had been seen on security footage at a Home Depot purchasing an electric saw in the days before the remains were discovered.
On May 7, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office announced that Marcelin was convicted of first-degree murder, evidence tampering, and concealment of a human corpse.
Marcelin had previously spent 50 years in prison for killing two past girlfriends, per the DA. The Gothamist reports he was paroled in 1984 for the fatal shooting of a girlfriend in 1963. He had reportedly told the parole board he was not interested in pursuing relationships anymore and would focus on caring for his elderly mother if they chose to release him.
They did release him, and soon after, he fatally stabbed a woman he was living with. He was seen leaving his apartment with a dripping garbage bag. WABC reports her remains were found in New York City’s Central Park. According to Robert Boyce, who had worked as a police officer at the time, “We see the foot coming out of the bag, so we knew we had something bad here.” Marcelin was convicted in connection with the woman’s death and returned to prison.
The Gothamist reports Marcelin was paroled in 2019 after telling the parole board that he and the victim had argued over rent and that he “went berserk.” He said it was sorry it had happened, “But I just lost it for a minute.”
He told the board he no longer had any living relatives and was planning to volunteer at soup kitchens. The Gothamist reports Marcelin said, “I give you my word, I will never reoffend.”
On June 10, following a two-week trial, Marcelin was sentenced to life in prison for murder in connection with Leyden’s death, per WABC.
At trial, Marcelin maintained his innocence, the New York Daily News reports. Lisa Lendahl testified she went to Marcelin’s apartment in 2022 to do drugs with the defendant and saw Leyden’s body when she was there.
At the sentencing, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun said, “The cold fact is that every time you were released, you killed someone else, which leads this court to believe that, regardless of your age, if you are ever paroled again, I have no doubt that you would kill again,” according to The New York Daily News.
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