No Sentence Reduction for 2013 Binghamton Murderer

A Binghamton man, convicted in the brutal slaying of a First Ward man and the beating of that man’s 19-year-old girlfriend in 2013, will stay in prison, possibly for the rest of his life.

An appeals court has denied an attempt by 31-year-old Nigel Saunders to have his sentence reduced for the murder of 24-year-old Jordan Dordell during a robbery.

During the horrific crime, Dordell and his fiancé were surprised in the bedroom of their home by two masked men who stabbed them numerous times.  The couple was taken into the basement and bound, the young woman was raped and the house was set on fire.

It took a jury a matter of only about three hours to find Saunders guilty of murder.

During the trial, the young woman testified she had recognized Saunders’ voice since he had once lived with the couple and he had been childhood friends with Dordell before the men had a falling out over some money that went missing from the home.

Saunders was sentenced in 2015 to 31 years to life in prison for the murder and assault convictions.

The other man involved in the robbery and attacks, Julian Talamantez pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony murder and attempted murder.