Ricky Colon received 25 years to life after a jury convicted him in Rachel Allen’s death.

OSWEGO, N.Y. — An Oswego man was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in prison for killing Rachel Allen with a cast-iron stove grate inside his West Schuyler Street home in July 2024.

Oswego County Supreme Court Justice Armen Nazarian imposed the maximum sentence on the murder count after a February jury verdict found Ricky Colon, 37, guilty of second-degree murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. The sentencing closed the trial-court stage of a case that began with a welfare complaint and ended with prosecutors describing a violent killing followed by efforts to mislead police.

The case centered on what happened July 13, 2024, at 30 W. Schuyler St. in the city of Oswego, a lakeside college community about 40 miles north of Syracuse. Police and fire crews were sent there after a report that an unconscious woman needed medical attention. The Oswego Fire Department arrived first and reported that Allen, 38, was dead. Investigators later said Colon, who lived at the home, had attacked Allen with the cast-iron grate. Prosecutors told jurors the assault was so severe that the metal grate broke into several pieces. At sentencing, Nazarian called the murder one of the most “brutal and disturbing” crimes he had seen, saying, “The sheer violence required to inflict those injuries demonstrates an astonishing level of cruelty.”

The physical evidence drove much of the prosecution’s case. The medical examiner determined Allen died from blunt force trauma after suffering 58 external injuries and 13 internal injuries. First responders who knew Allen said her injuries were so severe that they could not recognize her. Prosecutors said Colon moved Allen’s body after the beating, burned her clothes and washed blood from himself while Allen’s body remained in the shower area. The judge said the cleanup alone reflected the scale of the violence, citing an insurance report that put cleaning costs at more than $20,000. The court also rejected Colon’s statement to a 911 dispatcher that Allen had died of a drug overdose, saying the condition of the scene did not match that claim.

Cellphone videos recorded after the killing became another focus of the case. Prosecutors said Colon filmed himself inside the home while covered in blood, crying and speaking in a confused manner. In one video, he said he had found his friend dead, claimed he was innocent and spoke about calling police before saying he believed his life was over. A prosecutor described the videos as “extremely bizarre.” Nazarian singled out one video in which Colon said he found Allen in his apartment after waking from a nap. The judge treated those recordings as part of a pattern that showed Colon trying to frame the death as something he had discovered rather than caused.

The sentence followed a trial in which jurors convicted Colon on all major counts. Oswego County District Attorney Anthony J. DiMartino Jr. announced the guilty verdict in February, praising the Oswego City Police Department, New York State Police and the Oswego County Sheriff’s Office for their work. Assistant District Attorneys Louis Mannara and Matthew Bell prosecuted the case. After the verdict, DiMartino said the decision would bring justice for Allen and some measure of closure for her family. Colon had first been arrested after investigators identified Allen as the victim and charged him with murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and tampering with physical evidence.

Defense attorney Michael Spano asked the court to consider Colon’s military service and post-traumatic stress disorder, arguing that Colon returned from the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq a changed person. “Judge, he entered the service one person and came back a different person,” Spano said. The defense also pointed to a letter from Colon’s brother describing him before and after military service. During the trial, however, the court did not allow the defense to present the PTSD diagnosis to jurors despite repeated efforts. At sentencing, prosecutors said the diagnosis and Colon’s alcohol use did not excuse the killing. Mannara told the court Colon had received his rights, a fair trial and leeway during a series of courtroom outbursts.

The hearing grew tense when Nazarian discussed Colon’s statements and conduct after Allen’s death. The judge said Colon had shown “a complete and absolute lack of remorse.” Colon interrupted with an obscenity-laced complaint, saying he had not received a fair trial because he was not allowed to testify on his own behalf. Deputies removed him from the courtroom and took him to a holding cell for the rest of the hearing. Nazarian continued over a defense objection and returned to the presentence report, saying Colon had claimed he supplied Allen with alcohol to save her from withdrawal symptoms on the same day prosecutors said he killed her.

Along with the 25-years-to-life sentence on the murder conviction, Nazarian imposed a 25-year sentence on the assault count and shorter prison terms on the weapon and evidence-tampering counts. All terms will run concurrently, meaning Colon will serve them at the same time. The judge said the maximum sentence was necessary because Colon refused to accept responsibility and remained dangerous. “The defendant who absolutely refuses to acknowledge his role in his own horrific actions is a defendant who can’t be rehabilitated,” Nazarian said. He added that Colon’s “proven capacity for extreme, explosive violence” made him a continuing threat to the community.

Allen’s death moved from an emergency call to a murder investigation within hours, then to a February verdict and an April sentence. The next stage, if pursued, would move to appellate review. For now, Colon remains sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison for Allen’s killing.

Author note: Last updated May 7, 2026.