Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that an Elmont man was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for murdering his girlfriend inside her penthouse apartment in July 2022.
Mark Small, 57, was convicted on September 26, 2024, after a jury trial before Judge Helene Gugerty of Murder in the Second Degree (an A-I felony) and Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree (a C violent felony).
The defendant was sentenced today to 25 years to life in prison.
“Mark Small shot and killed his girlfriend inside her own apartment, and today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of this callous and senseless act of violence,” DA Donnelly said. “Rather than letting her leave New York to start a new job in a new state, this defendant decided that if he couldn't have her, no one could. We hope that this defendant’s sentencing brings a measure of closure to all those who are affected by Marivel’s tragic loss.”
DA Donnelly said that Small’s girlfriend, Marivel Estevez, worked in management at the Allure Mineola apartment complex on Old Country Road and resided in a top-floor apartment.
Between the evening hours of July 28, 2022, and the early morning hours of July 29, 2022, Small shot Estevez with a handgun once in the arm and once in the head and then fled in Estevez’s car with her dog, Tuffy.
When Estevez failed to show up for work on July 30, 2022, an employee called police for a wellness check. Responding Nassau County Police Department officers found Estevez deceased on her bed.
Small – a failed restaurateur who once operated a business in Rockville Centre – was arrested on August 2, 2022, at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset by members of the Nassau County Police Department. Small was being treated at the hospital after being struck by a car chasing after Estevez’s dog, who had escaped from him on the Long Island Expressway.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Tracy Keeton of the Homicide Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Jared Rosenblatt and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for the Litigation Division Kevin Higgins. The defendant is represented by Stephen Drummond, Esq. and JoAnn Squillace, Esq.