A Massapequa man will be sentenced in Broome County Court for stabbing another Binghamton University student to death last April, in spite of an attempt to take back his guilty plea.

Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
Photo: Bob Joseph/WNBF News
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Judge Kevin Dooley November 19 ruled 20-year-old Michael Roque’s guilty plea to second degree murder stands and Roque will be sentenced to up to 20 years to life in prison, five years shy of the maximum for killing 19-year-old Joao Souza April 15 at Windham Hall on the Vestal campus. The minimum sentence is 15 years to life.

Roque was arrested nearby in his own dorm room hours after Souza was repeatedly stabbed.

Roque pleaded guilty in September but has twice tried to back out, saying he was innocent, his lawyer didn’t properly advise him and he had been pressured into making the plea.

An official motive for the murder of the Westchester County teen has not been disclosed.

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