BOSTON, April 6, 2016—The man who murdered Sherry Leigh Bradley in a crime of domestic violence was sentenced to life in prison today after the victim’s daughter called him an “evil man” who “came uninvited into our lives,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
CHHOEUT CHIN (D.O.B. 4/12/72) of Lynn was convicted Monday of second-degree murder for choking Bradley to death in 2013. The crime comes with a mandatory term of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 or more years. Assistant District Attorney Edmond Zabin recommended that he remain behind bars for at least 25 years, the maximum allowed by law; Suffolk Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke set his parole eligibility at 20 years.
Prior to sentencing, the court heard from Bradley’s daughter, who recounted the pain of laying her mother to rest.
“She was so cold and hard and had a gray skin complexion,” the girl, now 16, said. “No child should have to see her mother like that …. I try my hardest to make my mom proud. It was not her time. It was too soon.”
Evidence and testimony introduced at Chin’s trial proved that he and Bradley, age 32 and also a Lynn resident, had been involved in a turbulent relationship marked by abuse, threats, and harassment through the spring and summer of 2013. He began following her and waiting outside the Lynn home where she had taken up residence in late July of that year.
On the night of July 31, the evidence showed, Bradley left that residence to buy food but never returned. In the hours that followed, Chin contacted a friend of Bradley’s stating that she had gone to Foxboro. Later on the morning of Aug. 1, his distinctive blue Mazda was seen entering an East Boston parking garage, where he dumped Bradley’s lifeless body.
Though the location of the murder was never conclusively established, Boston Police homicide detectives and Suffolk prosecutors built a compelling case against Chin through video surveillance footage, witness statements, cell phone records, and other evidence. When Bradley’s death was ruled a homicide in 2014, Chin was taken into custody and indicted for her murder.
Conley said the victims of domestic violence should call 911 in an emergency, but also noted that SafeLink, a statewide DV hotline, can be reached at 877-785-2020. SafeLink is answered by trained advocates 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as TTY at 877-521-2601. It also has the capacity to provide multilingual translation in more than 140 languages.
Assistant District Attorney Donna Jalbert Patalano second-seated Zabin at trial. Chin was represented by attorneys Brian Kelley and Ian Davis. Elise McConnell was the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
