Curtains

Broadway dancer sentenced for murdering boyfriend on meth binge

Marcus Bellamy, the 35-year-old former Broadway dancer who strangled his boyfriend during a crystal meth binge, gets to spend the next 20 years in prison.

Bellamy, whose Broadway credits included Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark, received the sentence amid an emotional courtroom. In August 2016, Bellamy murdered Bernardo Almonte, 27, by beating and strangulation. Just prior to sentencing, Almonte’s mother, Norka Vargas, addressed the court, expressed her hurt and rage.

“No human being deserves to die the way you killed my son,” Vargas lamented. “It was inhuman. For no reason. He was taken away and I still don’t know why. This is a question only you can answer for me: Why did you kill my son?”

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Bellamy also addressed the court, trying to explain his actions. “I want to apologize to the family,” Bellamy said. “Bernardo was very special and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. You asked me why. Your son and I used to smoke a lot of crystal meth together. On this day, I thought your son was the devil. I didn’t want to do what I did. I want to make that clear. I loved Bernardo. He took me out of my depression. I didn’t mean to destroy somebody.”

According to police, the day of the incident neighbors alerted law enforcement after hearing a struggle in Bellamy & Almonte’s shared apartment. Upon arrival, officers discovered Almonte unconscious and lying face down on the floor. Not long after, Bellamy knocked on a neighbor’s door and confessed to the murder. He also posted a series of disturbing Facebook messages alluding to Lucifer, the rapture and “I did it for love”:

In court, Bellamy pleaded guilty to the murder.

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