By Dan Murphy
The recent parole granted to Samuel Ayala, for the rape and murder of two women in South Salem has reignited the public debate over how many years served for the most severe crimes is enough, and are some crimes so severe and brutal, that there should never be parole.
The 1977 murder of Bonnie Minter and Sheila Watson in South Salem was a shock to everyone who lived in Westchester. Ayala and Profit entered the home of Watson, and raped and murdered the two mothers, shooting them 11 times as they attempted to crawl for their children, who were in a room down the hall.
We lived in Yorktown at the time, as a ten year old, I remember I my mother talking about the crime. As a young mother herself from the Bronx, my mom could not understand how a crime of this severity could have occurred in any of the quiet towns of Northern Westchester, where there were many more farms, and fewer homes, than there are in the county today. Perhaps that is why these men so brazenly decided to commit their crimes.
Samuel Ayala, age 26, Willie Profit, 25, and James Walls, Jr., 26, all from South Norwalk, CT, were captured three days later while trying to return the blue cargo van they had rented. All three men had previous records of criminal behavior of varying degrees of severity, including armed robbery and drug dealing.
In the 1978 trial Judge Richard Daronco went on the record at sentencing to explain that his 25-years to life sentence was the maximum he could give, making it clear to future parole boards that the vicious murderers belong behind bars for life. Samuel Ayala and Willie Profit received two concurrent 25-to-life sentences; James Walls, who was reportedly outside in the getaway vehicle at the time, received one.
All three became eligible for parole in 2002. Profit died — still in prison — in 2016. Walls was paroled earlier this year, and his release was supported by the families, believing more than four decades behind bars was sufficient time served for his role in the crimes.
But for the children of Bonnie Minter, Ayala should serve his entire life in prison. One of the children of Bonnie Minter, Jason Minter, has written about his tragedy in the past and is now standing up to rally support to get Governor Andrew Cuomo to overturn the recent decision of the NY Parole Board in granting a release to Ayala, who has served 42 years in prison. He is set to be released in September.
“It was mid-March 2020. COVID 19 panic was sweeping the country. There was talk of releasing those at high risk from prison early. Meetings became remote-access only. My sister, Maggie, and I grew anxious regarding our regular 18-month task of keeping the man who brutalized us as young children, and raped and murdered our mother and her friend Sheila Watson, locked up until the end of his life.
“In the past, we had been able to meet with a parole board member to give an emotional, and sometimes harrowing statement, as victims. But now, we were told by New York State that our impact statements were to be made over the phone only. We reasoned that with our statements and overwhelming public support, that Samuel Ayala, given the sheer viciousness and barbarity of his crime, would never be considered for release. Ayala was the ring leader in the beating, rape, and murder of our mother and her friend, which we and Sheila’s two children witnessed in a brutal home invasion in 1977 as three and six-year-olds.
“We knew Ayala lied to the parole board during his interviews and figured he would be disqualified for release. He said he was frightened for his own life on the day of the crimes because his companions were pressuring him. Still, we knew from our personal experience on that day as well as testimony from others, that He was the mastermind of the crime.
“We attended the many, many years of repeated parole board hearings. We know the board was aware that Ayala joked and laughed at his prowess during the rapes. They also knew that we very vividly remember his cackling laughter as he raced down the stairs and through the house that day after personally firing the multiple bullets that killed both my mom and her friend as they crawled away. Children saw this. Children heard this. Children do not forget these kinds of details.
“Six years ago, when the board asked Ayala if he hadn’t run out of bullets, would he have killed the four young children present so that there were indeed no witnesses, he did not answer. His silence said it all.
“We pleaded with the board members, letting them know how we would live in fear if Ayala were ever released–he is a remorseless sociopath. It occurred to us that our statements might have less power without being able to meet face to face. Yet, we continued to hope for the best. We can only speculate that COVID and the lack of in-person accessibility might have impacted our ability to resonate with the board as it had in previous years.
“We are unable to get the transcripts of Ayala’s board meeting for many months now, as the bureaucracy is slow, so we can only speculate the reasons for the board’s release. We’re not sure where he will go. It is possible Connecticut or Westchester, though he has family in Texas. If Ayala was fair game to be released despite everything that we have mentioned above, who wouldn’t be considered for parole?”
State Senate candidate Rob Astorino called on the NYS Parole Board to resign for their Parole and upcoming release of Ayala. “Westchester hasn’t forgotten Bonnie Minter and Sheila Watson, or their children,” Mr. Astorino said, “These loving families were visited by true evil that day, suffering the worst imaginable nightmare. But New York State Parole Board members clearly have forgotten the innocent victims here, and for that they should resign in disgrace. Samuel Ayala is a stone-cold killer and rapist, and this decision is as alarming as it is nauseating Mr. Ayala will also have his voting rights restored under New York’s new “progressive” criminal justice policies, the former county executive noted.
“Under one-party rule, New York has become a state that takes the side of criminals over the rights of victims and law-abiding citizens and that cannot continue,” Mr. Astorino said. “Cashless bail and other so-called criminal justice reforms are erasing years of public safety progress right before our eyes. Parole decisions like this one are an abomination. Westchester weeps for Sheila Watson, Bonnie Minter, and their surviving family members today. We will never forget what they suffered at Mr. Ayala’s hand.”
In 2007, Jason Minter wrote about the murder of his mom for Westchester Magazine. In that story he explains the emotional and painful results of his mothers murder. Clearly, 13 yeares later, Jason Minter has not forgiven Samuel Ayala, and decision may be the most important of all.
