25 to Life for Man Who Stalked, Murdered Ex-Girlfriend

After being convicted of murder earlier this month, today Lamont Wright of East Flatbush was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison today, for the 2016 murder of his ex-girlfriend in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Wright, 56, had stalked and threatened 23-year old Michelle Marks for weeks following their breakup, according to a statement from the District Attorney’s office.

About a month before the murder, Facebook messages between the two showed that Marks was attempting to end their relationship, which the defendant refused to accept. He began to send threatening and obsessive messages to Marks. In one audio message, he told her, “I promise you you’re not done with me because either I’m gonna wind up in jail or I’m gonna wind up in a grave.”

A few days before the murder, on June 6, 2016, Marks was walking with a co-worker in Brooklyn Bridge Park, where she was a waitress at Fornino’s, and saw Wright waiting for her. “Look, there’s my stalker,” she told her friend.

Later that night, while the two were on a cigarette break, Wright jumped out of the bushes at them, confronting Marks about kissing another man.

The day before the murder, Wright showed up in the lobby of Marks’ Crown Heights building and followed her to her apartment. At the door, he pushed Marks, scattering her groceries. The victim’s mother and boyfriend intervened, but Wright fled the scene before police could arrive.

Then, finally, on June 6, 2016 the obsessive behavior reached its tragic conclusion. As Michelle Marks left her restaurant in Brooklyn Bridge Park around 9:20 pm, she walked to the bus stop, talking on the phone with her boyfriend. Then, Lamont Wright’s voice could be heard in the background.

“Babe, he’s here, call the police, he’s got a gun,” Marks said before the call suddenly dropped. She was found shortly thereafter, shot in the head at the bus stop, and was declared dead.

“The senseless murder of a promising young woman at the hands of this defendant was devastating and cruel, coming on the heels of an unacceptable campaign to terrorize her,” said District Attorney Gonzalez. “I hope that today’s sentence brings a small measure of solace to her grieving loved-ones.”