Mother Speaks at Sentencing in Murder of 17-Year-Old Student 

BOSTON, October 10, 2017— Two men were sentenced to life in prison today for their roles in the murder of 17-year-old D’Andre King-Settles, an act the slain youth’s mother called “a senseless act of violence,” Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

ENRIQUE AUCH (D.O.B. 4/9/1997) and TSUNAMI ORTIZ (D.O.B. 12/21/1998) faced sentencing today after a Suffolk Superior Court jury last week found them guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of armed assault in the 2015 shooting that claimed King-Settles’ life.  The offense of second-degree murder carries a mandatory term of life in prison with the possibility of parole; a sentencing judge has discretion to set parole eligibility between 15 and 25 years.  Judge Mitchell Kaplan imposed a term of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years for each defendant.  Assistant District Attorney Catherine Ham of the DA’s Homicide Unit had recommended that parole eligibility be set at the maximum term of 25 years.

D’Andre King-Settles

During the course of a week-long trial, Ham proved that two men, later identified as Auch and Ortiz, were captured on a security camera inside an Annunciation Road building as they entered, then exited, and returned shortly thereafter on the afternoon of Dec. 18, 2015.  The camera again captured Auch and Ortiz as they followed King-Settles and two teenaged companions out of the building.  According to witness statements, shots rang out from behind the victims moments later.  King-Settles was fatally injured and a second victim, then 19, was grazed in the leg by a bullet.

Multiple Boston Police officers who were familiar with Auch and Ortiz from prior interactions identified them as the men in the security footage.  Witness statements, phone records, and additional evidence linked the two to the murder.

Before sentencing the defendants, Kaplan heard victim impact statements from King-Settles’ family and friends.  Ham read a statement prepared by King-Settles’ mother.

“D’Andre was well on his way to finishing school, with dreams of joining the army after graduation so that he could fight for this country,” the victim’s mother wrote.  “The both of them took from him the opportunity to get married, have children, and be a part of the lives of those who loved him so much.  They both cut his physical life short from everything he ever wanted.”

Neither defendant, she said, “will ever understand the emptiness, the void, and the darkness we feel waiting on that moment for D’Andre to call, walk through the door, say ‘I love you,’ give out hugs, or even drive us crazy … My heart is burdened with continuous grief, a grief that at this moment still surrounds me.”

Elise McConnell is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate.  Auch was represented by Michael Phelan and Ortiz by John Galvin.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.