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Teenager Found Guilty of Slaying Maryland Couple

Sonia Chopra

Family and friends of Nirman and Shashi Thapar hugged and wept in court on Friday as they heard the Prince George County, Washington DC jury convict a teenager of their murders.

The jury was out for three hours before returning with the guilty verdict for Robert Perez Jr, 19, of two counts of first-degree felony murder, two counts of robbery, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder and two handgun violations.

The veterinarian and his wife, who were both 52 years old and owned an animal hospital, where they were shot dead on September 15, 1999. The police determined it was a botched robbery attempt and they were led to the two suspects, who are being tried separately, by an informer.

Namita Chaudhary and her sister Ruchika Thapar, the daughters of the slain couple, hugged each other and cried, while the former's husband Naveen Chaudhary tried to comfort them. Three rows of the courtroom were filled with friends of the family who sobbed quietly as the verdicts were read.

The Thapars were well established and popular in the close knit community. And the community bonded together to support the family emotionally, while the professional organizations the Thapars were affiliated to had raised reward money to aid the police.

For the family, the verdict ended of months of wondering if the suspects would ever been bought to justice.

"I feel pretty much satisfied that the legal system worked, justice was served but nothing can bring my parents back. Our lives are destroyed forever," Namita said.

They expressed gratitude for the work law enforcement forces had put in.

"We knew we had very little physical evidence. Our case hinged on the confession. We weren't dealing with a lot of aces on our side but we were able to convince the jury. I am glad they saw through the lies," Namita said.

"I know there were many times when we wondered if the police were working at all on the case because they won't share any information with us freely, it's pretty clear now that they were working all along."

As Perez was handcuffed and taken out of the courtroom, he passed Thapar's son-in-law Naveen, who said in a clear and audible voice, "May you rot in hell."

Police said that under questioning -- the sum total of all sessions added up to 51 hours -- Perez confessed to the robbery of the Thapars but blamed his friend Thomas Jefferson Gordon, also 19, for the shootings. Perez also insisted his confession was coerced and Gordon will face the charges of two counts of first-degree felony murder in September.

Under Maryland law, anyone who participates in a robbery that leads to a slaying could be convicted of felony murder, even if that person did not kill the victim. The maximum sentence Perez could receive when he is sentenced on June 14 is two consecutive life terms in prison without parole, plus additional time for the other convictions.

It was very hard for the family to sit through weeks of testimony with gruesome details of the killings. They cried openly when it was revealed in court that Nirman had died with three shots to his temple and had his throat slit while his wife was blinded by the shots to her eyes and was struck by a blunt object to her head.

" It was very mentally and emotionally exhausting and horrific for us, but it meant a lot to us to have the community's support during those times and it made it a lot easier to deal with, when we know we have people on our side," said Namita, appealing to the community to show up in large numbers for the sentencing.

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