Teen Robbery & Sentencing after Cold Case Murderer Convicted

NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individuals wanted in connection with a robbery that occurred within the confines of the 24 Precinct. Details are as follows:

It was reported to police that on Dec 24 at approximately 2:45 p.m., a 13-year-old male victim was walking in the rear of 103 West 107th Street when he was approached by three unidentified and unknown individuals. The individuals made a statement and then punched the victim multiple times in the face, causing pain and redness. The brutes then forcibly removed the victim’s black North Face jacket and green Bathing Ape hooded sweatshirt.

EMS responded and treated the victim at the scene. The attackers fled the location on foot, traveling eastbound on West 109th Street towards Manhattan Avenue and were last seen entering Central Park.

The first sought individual is described as a male, 16 to 18 years old, approximately 5’4” tall with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a black face mask, black jacket, black pants and black and white Nike Jordan sneakers.

The second sought individual is described as a male, 16 to 18 years old, approximately 5’7” tall with a slim build. He was last seen wearing a black vest, gray hooded sweatshirt, black pants and black and white Nike Jordan sneakers.

The third sought individual is described as a male, 16 to 18 years old, approximately 5’7” tall with a medium build. He was last seen wearing all black clothing and a black backpack.

Bragg Announces Conviction in 1994 Murder

Justice caught up to a suspect accused of strangling a mother and daughter nearly 16 years ago. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently announced the sentencing of Larry Atkinson, 67, to 40 years-to-life for strangling 57-year-old Sarah Roberts, who suffered from emphysema, and her 26-year-old daughter Sharon, who was disabled, in their Morningside Heights apartment in February 1994. Additional DNA testing performed in 2022 led to Atkinson’s arrest in January 2023. He was convicted by a New York State Supreme Court jury on October 29, 2025, of two counts of Murder in the Second Degree.

“Thirty years after strangling Sarah Roberts and her daughter Sharon, Larry Atkinson stands convicted by a jury of two counts of murder and will serve decades in prison,” said DA Bragg. “Thanks to the skill of our prosecutors and the dogged work of our partners at OCME and the NYPD, there is finally closure for this horrific crime.”

As proven at trial, on the evening of February 20, 1994, a home attendant–who was dating Atkinson at the time–entered the Roberts’ apartment in NYCHA’s Grant Houses and discovered both women dead. Sharon was found with the tube from her mother’s oxygen tank and a pair of leggings tied around her neck. The Office of the Medical Examiner (“OCME”) later determined that both victims were killed by ligature strangulation.

In 2022, using technology unavailable at the time of the women’s deaths, OCME conducted additional testing on samples collected in 1994, and developed a DNA profile that matched Atkinson’s in New York State’s database.