Syracuse men sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for attempted murder of wife

A Syracuse man was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for shooting his wife Wednesday, April 6, 2011 in a Onondaga County courtroom for the attempted murder of his wife. Cecil Torrence III, a 35 year old father, pled guilty on Valentine's Day 2011 to a single count of attempted 2nd degree murder for shooting his wife Lisa in the bathtub after an argument over texting. 

The couple reportedly was arguing about text messages the victim had received when Torrence pulled a gun and opened fire on her in the bathtub, the prosecutor has said. The victim was shot four times, but managed to crawl from the residence after the gunman left with the couple's 2-year-old child.

The victim collapsed in a snowbank outside her home where neighbors discovered her and called for help. The defendant was arrested the following day when he was found hiding in a closet of a home on North Midler Avenue.

Given an opportunity to speak in court, Torrence turned to face about a dozen relatives and apologized for any shame and embarrassment he caused them. He then apologized to his children for being taken away from them as a result of his conduct. Lastly, he apologized to his wife for causing her any pain and suffering.

Aloi noted Torrence's courtroom comments were far different from his reported comments to the probation officer who prepared a pre-sentence report. The judge said the probation report indicated no remorse by Torrence.

Paul Carey, Torrence's defense lawyer, said that the lack of remors in the pre-sentencing report was due to his advice not to talk about the case until after sentencing. The defendant's two daughters and aunt were upset with the length of the sentence because homicides can get that lenght of time behind bars.  The aunt said her nephew was"a good person, a good father and a good husband."