Sheila Davalloo

Case record: Sheila Davalloo

Background

Sheila Davalloo was an Iranian-American woman who worked as a pharmaceutical researcher.

Sheila Davalloo was born on May 11, 1969, in Iran. Her family emigrated to the United States in the mid-1970s. She attended SUNY Stony Brook and earned a biochemistry degree.

She married her first husband, Farid Moussavi. Farid Moussavi filed for divorce when he learned she was carrying an affair with Paul Christos, whom she met while she was attending graduate school at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York.

After getting her degree, Sheila Davalloo took a job at Purdue Pharma in Stanford, Connecticut as a research scientist.

The offence

Attempted murder of her husband, Paul Christos

On March 23, 2003, Sheila Davalloo stabbed her husband Paul Christos twice with a paring knife inside the couple’s Pleasantville, New York condominium.

At the time of the stabbing, Sheila and Paul were partaking in a sex game in which Paul was blindfolded and handcuffed to a chair, and Sheila was touching him with objects.

After the stabbing, Sheila stalled in getting medical attention for her husband. When she finally drove her husband to the Westchester County Medical Center, she tried to stab him again.

Christos survived the 2003 stabbing following open heart surgery.

Murder of Anna Lisa Raymundo

On November 8, 2002, the body of Anna Lisa Raymundo was found in her Stamford, Connecticut condo.

She was bludgeoned over the head several times and stabbed nine times in her face, neck and chest in a chaotic struggle. The deepest stab wound pierced her lung.

The deepest stab wound pierced her lung, prosecutors said.

Raymundo had multiple stab wounds and blunt head trauma.

Investigation

Sheila Davalloo was the prime suspect in the investigation into the murder of Anna Lisa Raymundo, but police initially lacked the evidence to charge her.

Shortly after Sheila’s attempted murder conviction, Anna Lisa’s father, Dr. Renato Raymundo, publically stated how he believed that Sheila was his daughter’s killer.

By the time of Sheila’s trial in 2012, it was more than four years after her arrest.

During the investigation, authorities found Raymundo’s body near the front entrance of her Shippan condo amid signs of a violent struggle.

Authorities believed Davalloo wanted to kill both Raymundo and her ex-husband as part of an obsessive desire to rekindle her affair with Nelson Sessler.

Stamford Police Department investigators arrested her in 2008 and charged her with stabbing and bludgeoning Raymundo, a 32-year-old former co-worker at Purdue Pharma in Stamford, to death on Nov. 8, 2002.

The investigation into the attempted murder exposed Davalloo’s affair with Nelson Sessler, another Purdue Pharma co-worker who began dating Raymundo after a brief relationship with Davalloo.

Investigators found Davalloo’s DNA in a blood stain left on a bathroom sink handle, which authorities said the killer used to clean up after brutally killing Raymundo.

In January 2012 trial testimony, State Trooper Don Elmendorf testified to inventorying dozens of pieces of evidence from Raymundo’s Harbor Drive condo as photos of blood streaks, hair samples and fingerprints were displayed.

Elmendorf testified he found diluted blood stains in a half-bathroom next to where officers found Raymundo’s body.

Also found in the bathroom were two pieces of men’s clothing: a tan dress shirt and green tie left on the floor.

A female 911 caller alerted police to the homicide by telling dispatchers a man was attacking her neighbor at Harbor View Drive.

A voice recognition expert testified on Friday that he used digital voice analysis software to determine that Davalloo was the 911 caller.

A marker and bulletin board were used by Davalloo during her closing arguments to spell out examples she felt were favorable to her defense, including a blue contact lens found in Raymundo’s hair.

Jury deliberations later included a comparison of DNA analysis and a 911 call made from a fast food restaurant after the Raymundo homicide.

The caller told police she saw a man attack a woman in Raymundo’s waterfront condo complex.

Jurors later asked to hear testimony about the DNA analysis and the 911 call.

Arrest

Attempted murder (husband)

After the stabbing and attempts to seek medical attention, on the following day, the record described that Sheila Davalloo was charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.

Murder (Anna Lisa Raymundo)

Sheila Davalloo was not charged with Anna Lisa Raymundo’s murder until November 6, 2007, almost five years to the day of the murder.

Stamford police arrested her in 2008 while she served prison time following a guilty conviction for the attempted murder of her ex-husband.

During the Stamford trial, the account included that her arrest was connected to the Raymundo homicide and that officers charged her with stabbing and bludgeoning Raymundo to death on Nov. 8, 2002.

Trial

Attempted murder trial (non-jury)

On February 19, 2004, Sheila Davalloo, whose defense was that she was emotionally troubled and never meant to hurt her husband, was convicted of attempted murder after a non-jury trial.

Prosecutors argued that Sheila wanted Paul Christos dead so she could be with her lover and co-worker at Purdue Pharma, Nelson Sessler.

They also alleged that Sheila’s desire to be with Nelson Sessler could have led her to commit the November 2002 murder of Anna Lisa Raymundo.

Murder trial (jury trial; self-representation)

At her trial in 2012, Sheila Davalloo elected to have a jury trial.

She chose to act as her own defense attorney and represent herself.

During the beginning of her trial, she confronted Paul Christos, who had since divorced her, about his stabbing.

When prosecutors asked Paul Christos to reveal the scars he obtained from the stabbing, Sheila broke down in court. She later laughed off the incident, stating: "I seem to have John Boehner's affliction."

A lengthy trial included testimony from multiple witnesses and the introduction of crime scene evidence.

During January 31, 2012 proceedings, prosecutors introduced nearly 50 pieces of crime scene evidence from the condo in which Anna Lisa Raymundo was found stabbed to death in 2002, including blood stains and men’s clothes found in a bathroom.

The Forensic Science Laboratory in Meriden determined eight years earlier that Raymundo and Davalloo both contributed to DNA profiles found in a blood stain on a sink handle from Raymundo’s bathroom, according to Davalloo’s arrest warrant affidavit. Prosecutors had not yet introduced the DNA report as evidence during that described stage.

In testimony, Elmendorf answered whether someone was standing in front of the sink trying to clean themselves, saying: "That someone was standing in front of the sink trying to clean themselves."

When asked whether the condo showed any signs of burglary, Elmendorf said: "You'd expect to see some missing items, jewelry or china," and added: "We didn't see any of that."

Trooper Matthew Reilly testified the crime scene showed no signs of forced entry and the only way to enter the Harbor Drive condo was through the front door.

During her closing arguments, Sheila described examples of reasonable doubt, including the lack of eyewitnesses or a murder weapon, the unknown DNA profiles found on dumbbells, and the testimony from a convicted burglar.

She stated: "This is a case where I am being accused of killing someone."

She stated: "Did the state prove that I was physically there on Nov. 8, 2002? They can't do that."

She also stated: "They say Harry Connick Jr. and Frank Sinatra sound alike."

She argued about the lack of a murder weapon and questioned DNA results.

During her defense, she played up the weight advantage Raymundo had over her and the testimony from a defense witness, Gary Riley, a 51-year-old parolee who said he saw an argument between a man and women outside Raymundo’s complex the morning of her death.

Bernardi argued witnesses, including her ex-husband Paul Christos, helped lay out Davalloo’s obsessive affair with Sessler.

Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney James Bernardi presented recorded conversations between Nelson Sessler and Sheila Davalloo.

In one letter, Davalloo wrote that if she had known Sessler and Raymundo were living together she would have acted differently; the record included the exact line: "Maybe I would have called her and warned her about you; I would have felt sympathetic and not murderous."

In another letter, she wrote about how the U.S. war in Iraq upset her and how she didn't believe in abortion because of a strong stance against killing.

Davalloo wrote that her fear of blood kept her from going to medical school.

Several letters ended with rambling poems.

Nelson Sessler testified about the recorded conversations and that their relationship never became serious.

Sessler testified: "I had no idea she was obsessed."

He added: "We never had that kind of relationship where we shared the word love. It was completely left-field for me."

Sessler testified that Davalloo consoled him after Raymundo was killed and that they rekindled their affair, and that they went on weekend ski trips after the homicide.

Sessler testified that he learned Davalloo was married only after the March 2003 stabbing that nearly killed Christos.

Sessler said he called Stamford police investigators and told them to look into Davalloo as a suspect in the Raymundo killing.

Sessler testified that Davalloo called him the day of the stabbing to invite him over for dinner, and that he arrived and found another crime scene.

He stated: "If she could have stabbed a husband I didn't know she had, she certainly could have stabbed Anna Lisa."

He added: "It all started to come together."

During cross-examination in the described trial account, the record included the question and answer: Davalloo asked: "On the day of Ms. Raymundo's murder, you had a swollen, red knuckle, swollen cheek and scratches on your back, correct?" Sessler replied: "Not to my knowledge."

During another recorded conversation quoted in the record, Davalloo said: "I don't know why they haven't solved this mystery."

The record also included that Bernardi characterized the trial as similar to Greek tragedy; Bernardi said: "Witness by witness, it revealed a tale of obsessive vanity."

During the described recorded conversation at Duchess in 2003, Sessler asked when the last time she saw Raymundo was, and she said in an elevator at Purdue Pharma in Stamford where the three of them once worked together.

In described proceedings, during cross-examination of Sessler, Davalloo focused on his whereabouts during the time Raymundo was murdered between 10:34 a.m. and 12:13 p.m. Nov. 8, 2002.

Sentencing

Attempted murder sentencing (husband)

On February 19, 2004, Sheila Davalloo was convicted of attempted murder.

She was sentenced to serve 25 years in state prison without parole.

Murder sentencing (Anna Lisa Raymundo)

On February 10, 2012, a 12-person jury found Sheila Davalloo guilty of murdering Anna Lisa Raymundo in 2002.

After completing her sentence in New York for the attempted murder of her then-husband Paul Christos, she was sentenced to serve 50 years for the offense.

A sentencing hearing occurred on April 26, 2012 in Stamford.

Judge Richard Comerford sentenced Davalloo to a 50-year prison term during that sentencing hearing.

The account described that Comerford invoked religious images at certain moments, referencing the circles of hell from Dante’s "Inferno."

Comerford told Davalloo: "I hope you will be sure to contribute to those with whom you are incarcerated."

Comerford added: "I think the victim here would ask you to do that. She was a good soul. She was a charitable person."

Davalloo faced between 25 and 60 years in prison for the Raymundo homicide.

The 12-person jury deliberated for a day and a half following closing arguments and came back with a guilty verdict on Feb. 10 after voting only once.

Before being led from the courtroom by judicial marshals, Davalloo asked Comerford to issue a temporary stay of execution of her sentence so she could work on an appeal while in a Connecticut prison; Comerford denied the motion.

Public defender Barry Butler said: "For all intents and purposes, they are all life sentences."

Butler argued for a sentence near the 25-year minimum, citing her troubled mental health history and that even a light sentence would keep her incarcerated well into her 90s.

During the sentencing, Davalloo addressed the court and thanked the judge, corrections officers, and the jury.

Davalloo said: "First and foremost, I'd like to thank God for giving me the strength and the courage to stand here today."

She added: "It was hard to sit here and withstand those harsh words."

Davalloo said she was troubled by hearing about how Raymundo’s parents questioned their faith after their daughters' brutal murder.

Davalloo said: "I pray for them and hope that the punishment you hand down here today will give them closure and some kind of solace."

Appeals

Davalloo sought a temporary stay of execution of her sentence so she could work on an appeal of her verdict while in Connecticut prison; Comerford denied the motion.

Outcome

Sheila Davalloo was convicted of attempted murder in 2004 after a non-jury trial and received a 25-year state prison sentence without parole.

Sheila Davalloo was convicted of first degree murder in 2012 for the death of Anna Lisa Raymundo, and she received a 50-year prison sentence on April 26, 2012 after completing her New York attempted murder sentence.

Aftermath

The account described that Davalloo was serving prison time following a guilty conviction for the attempted murder of her ex-husband.

The sentencing effectively kept her behind bars for the rest of her life, and the account said her total sentence ends in 2079.

Paul Christos, Davalloo’s former husband, testified against Davalloo during the trial and attended Friday’s sentencing.

Christos testified that Davalloo showed no remorse during the sentencing and displayed arrogance in thinking she could win an appeal.

Christos said: "She lives in her own shade of reality."

Dr. Renato Raymundo read statements to the court during the sentencing, highlighting his deceased daughter’s accomplishments and the void her death left in their lives.

The account described that Anna Lisa Raymundo earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and went to Columbia University for a master's degree.

Renato Raymundo said: "Sheila Davalloo took away our most precious possession."

Renato Raymundo called Davalloo a "heinous woman" in his comments to Comerford.

Susan Raymundo described her daughter’s murder as a "demonic" act.

Renato Raymundo stated: "She was a perfect daughter."

He added: "She was an excellent human being."

Renato Raymundo said: "It does not replace our beloved daughter, Anna Lisa."

After sentencing, Renato Raymundo said: "This is what we were hoping for."

He added: "It was really a savage act, and uncivilized."

The record included statements from jury member Kelly Fado, who served on the jury that convicted Davalloo.

Fado said: "I sleep soundly at night with my decision."

She added: "It was not something taken lightly by anyone."

Fado stated that jurors compared notes during deliberations and asked to hear testimony about DNA analysis and a 911 call made from a fast food restaurant after the Raymundo homicide that alerted police to the crime.

Fado said jurors did not consider the expert witness as reliable, so they disregarded his testimony and made their own comparison.

Fado said: "We made our own judgment on that."

Fado stated: "The DNA evidence held the most weight from the state's case."

Fado added: "The 911 call served as the "nail in the coffin," she added."

Jury member David Michel, 37, said: "I was glad I served."

He added: "It was a difficult trial and a difficult decision. We were all happy with our decision."

Michel also stated: "I was glad I served."

Michel said: "It was a difficult trial and a difficult decision.

Michel said most jurors had questions about the case as deliberations began Thursday morning.

Michel stated: "We went through all the jurors' questions at that time in the trial."

He added: "So we went through the evidence and the exhibit, and went back to what witnesses said."

During cross-examination in the described murder trial, Davalloo referenced a lack of evidence about where she physically was on Nov. 8, 2002 and emphasized reasonable doubt.

Davalloo stated: "I thought that was important."

Other details

People mentioned

• Sheila Davalloo (defendant)
• Paul Christos (husband; stabbed in March 2003 and survived)
• Farid Moussavi (first husband; filed for divorce)
• Nelson Sessler (Purdue Pharma co-worker; boyfriend/ex-affair; love triangle figure)
• Anna Lisa Raymundo (victim; found dead Nov. 8, 2002; former co-worker at Purdue Pharma in Stamford was described separately as Raymundo’s role; she was bludgeoned and stabbed)
• Dr. Renato Raymundo (father of Anna Lisa Raymundo)
• Susan Raymundo (wife of Dr. Renato Raymundo)
• Judge Richard Comerford (sentenced Davalloo)
• Supervisory Assistant State’s Attorney James Bernardi (prosecutor in Stamford trial)
• Barry Butler (public defender)
• Kelly Fado (jury member)
• David Michel (jury member)
• State Trooper Don Elmendorf (testified during trial)
• Trooper Matthew Reilly (testified during trial)
• H. Wayne Carver II (chief medical examiner testimony read from deceased pathologist’s reports)
• Michael Bourke (supervising DNA analyst; testified about estimated frequency)
• Gary Riley (defense witness; 51-year-old parolee)

Additional factual details from the described trial record

• The jury foreman announced the guilty verdict to a packed courtroom on Feb. 10.
• The record described that judicial marshal handcuffed Davalloo and led her out of the courtroom after the verdict on Feb. 10.
• Davalloo’s murder trial was described as lasting about 2-and-a-half weeks with eight days of testimony beginning Jan. 24.
• During closing arguments, Davalloo said: "By the mere fact I decided to represent myself in this case, the jury had ample opportunity to listen to my voice."
• Davalloo told jurors: "I thought that was important."
• The prosecutor James Bernardi said: "You've been hearing the defendant's voice for the past two weeks."
• Bernardi said: "Your ears are not lying to you."
• Bernardi said of the case: "They're claiming the motive was to have Mr. Sessler all for myself," which was reported as Davalloo’s characterization of prosecutors’ motive.
• During the described recorded conversation where Davalloo was asked about solving a mystery, the record included her statement: "I don't know why they haven't solved this mystery."
• Davalloo stated: "It was hard to sit here and withstand those harsh words."
• Davalloo stated: "I pray for them and hope that the punishment you hand down here today will give them closure and some kind of solace."
• The record described that Davalloo chose to represent herself during the murder trial, but chose to have Butler handle her affairs following the trial.
• Butler stated: "For all intents and purposes, they are all life sentences."