MEDFORD, NY – In a landmark ruling, Wayne Chambers, 51, has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the brutal murder of his former girlfriend, Sandra McIntosh, 46, of Medford. The trial, held before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Ambro, concluded with a unanimous guilty verdict of Murder in the Second Degree.
The chilling crime took place on the evening of July 22, 2021, sending shockwaves through the community. Chambers, who had been in a tumultuous relationship with McIntosh for six years, picked her up from work at Stony Brook University Hospital. Witnesses later reported seeing the couple engaged in a physical altercation, during which Chambers mercilessly stabbed McIntosh over 25 times, inflicting fatal wounds to her neck and back.
The horrific incident unfolded on Woodland Avenue in Holtsville, where Chambers was seen assaulting McIntosh while attempting to drag her by her hair. McIntosh’s desperate screams caught the attention of nearby witnesses, prompting them to intervene. However, Chambers quickly fled the scene in McIntosh’s car, leaving behind a lifeless victim.
The Suffolk County Police Department launched a swift investigation, which led them to the Bronx, where McIntosh’s vehicle was discovered. Bloodstains, containing a mixture of DNA belonging to both Chambers and the victim, were found on the car’s exterior and interior. Surveillance footage revealed a man fitting Chambers’ description parking the car and exiting with a phone in hand.
Cell phone data further incriminated Chambers, placing him near the crime scene at the time of the stabbing and connecting his phone to the location where McIntosh’s car was found. Additionally, a female acquaintance gave testimony, stating that Chambers had visited her with a bloodstained shirt and a Band-Aid covering a cut on his index finger.
The tireless efforts of law enforcement agencies paid off on July 30, 2021, when Chambers was apprehended at a hotel in Newburg by members of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad, Newburg City Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, and New York State Police.
Assistant District Attorneys Eric S. Aboulafia and Michelle Chiuchiolo led the prosecution, presenting a compelling case against Chambers. Their collaboration with Detectives Guido Cirenza and Brendan O’Hara of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad proved instrumental in securing the conviction.
District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney expressed his sympathy for Sandra McIntosh’s loved ones.
“This defendant stabbed his ex-girlfriend in cold blood and without remorse. My heart continues to go out to Sandra McIntosh’s loved ones. I hope this lengthy sentence provides them with some measure of justice after she was tragically taken from them by this defendant.”
Chambers, represented by defense attorney Ian Fitzgerald, Esq., was ultimately found guilty of Murder in the Second Degree and faced sentencing on January 25, 2024. The court, acknowledging the severity of the crime, imposed a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
