A jury has found Comcast contractor Anthony Triplett guilty of first degree murder, aggravated sexual assault and robbery in the death of Comcast Cable customer Urszula Sakowska, 23, killed by Triplett in December 2006 when Comcast sent him to her home to work on her Internet service.
It was not the first time police investigated Triplett, who was also under scrutiny for possible involvement in an earlier homicide of Comcast customer Janice Ordidge, who was found strangled in her bathtub after Triplett was sent to install her cable television service.
Assistant district attorney Brian Sexton said Triplett got his thrills watching his victims suffer and die.
“As he strangles them, he looks them right in the eye and sees the light go out,” Sexton said.
Comcast had come under fire in the case because the cable operator permitted the contractor, Premiere Cable Communications, to continue to send Triplett on service calls even while he was under investigation by local police.
“I don’t understand how he was allowed to keep doing cable jobs after he was questioned regarding my sister,” said Loretta Shamley, the sister of Janice Ordidge.
Neighbors say the incident made them more wary of cable repairmen, some not directly employed by the cable company.
“I don’t even feel safe enough to take out the garbage anymore,” said Latia Warren, who lives two floors above Ordidge. “If I’m alone I won’t let a serviceman into my apartment unless he works for the building and I know him.”
A second trial on the death of Ordidge has not yet been scheduled.
Triplett faces up to life imprisonment.
[flv width=”640″ height=”380″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/WLS Chicago Cable Repairman Guilty 5-14-13.mp4[/flv]
WLS in Chicago reports a Comcast cable technician working for a third-party contracting firm was found guilty of murdering one customer and has alleged involvement in another homicide committed while doing service calls. (2 minutes)