Drifter laughs as he is convicted of strangling student with electric cable while watching horror film

A drifter laughed aloud in court while he was sentenced to life imprisonment for garrotting a 19-year-old to death with electric cable, having been pumped up after watching a gory horror film on the night of the murder.

Jeromie Cancel was found guilty of brutally slaying Pace University student Kevin Pravia at the victim’s New York apartment two years ago.

Yesterday, as the heavily tattooed 24-year-old was sentenced to 25 years behind bars, the Mr Pravia’s family voiced their disgust at Cancel’s chilling laughter and lack of remorse.

Murder: Pace University student Kevin Pravia (left) was strangled with an electrical cord by Jeromie Cance (right), who laughed when sentenced

Hostel: A scene from the horror film watched by Jeromie Cancel on the night he killed 19-year-old Kevin Pravia

‘I’ll f***ing kill you, mother f***er – I’ll end you,’ screamed out the victim’s brother, jumping up from his seat in the gallery as Cancel continued to grin, snigger and make obscene gestures.

‘See me in Rikers,’ shouted back Cancel – a reference to Rikers Island, New York's main jail complex, believed to be the largest prison in the world.

‘I’ll see you in hell,’ added the victim’s father, Kevin Pravia.

Student: Mr Pravia was studying at Pace University in New York and dreamed of opening a clothes shop

Mayhem ensued as prosecutors and Mr Pravia's family, from Massachusetts, pleaded Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Daniel Fitzgerald to throw the book at Cancel.

There was even hope that the judge would sentence him to the death penalty, even though the last execution in New York was in 1976.

When asked why he killed Mr Pravia, Cancel told reporters: 'Because I wanted to! You got a problem with that?'

Mr Pravia's roommate, Josephine Madonna, discovered the victim’s body inside their apartment near Union Square, when she returned on August 31, 2008.

'When I removed the blanket I was left with an image that has never left me,' Miss Madonna said of finding her friend's corpse.

According to Cancel’s statement, Mr Pravia, who dreamed of opening a clothes shop in New York, had invited him up to his apartment after they met nearby.

Cancel told police he went upstairs to sell Mr Pravia cocaine, while defence lawyers have alluded to a gay tryst – but forensics confirmed neither drugs nor sex.

In his confession, Cancel – a mentally troubled drifter who was estranged from his Queens-based family – boasted that he strangled his slight, inebriated and passed-out victim in his bed out of boredom.

He said in his statement that it added spice to the robbery of Mr Pravia's cell phone and computer equipment.

Cancel bragged to police that he smoked a cigarette with one hand as he pulled the electrical wire tight around his victim's neck with the other, all the while watching Hostel, a 2005 film.

After he murdered Mr Pravia – and stuffed a plastic bag in his mouth – he stayed and continued to watch the horror film, he confessed.

Rikers Island: The New York jail where Cancel is likely to serve his 25-year term

Hostel was written, produced and directed by Eli Roth and produced by Quentin Tarantino and grossed $19.4million at the box office.

In the film college students, while travelling in Europe, are tempted to a hostel in Prague, which, they are promised, is full of stunning women. They are systematically tortured in a grotesque way. 

Cancel mistakenly informed police that the film he watched was another horror film, Saw – the logo of which he had tattooed on his person while in custody.

Mr Pravia’s mother, Paula, said: ‘The tattoo is Jeromie's trophy for the brutal murder of my son.

'I cry when I wake up every morning. And I cry myself to sleep.’

A prepared statement from Mr Pravia’s 12-year-old sister, which was read aloud in court, said: ‘I miss waking Kevin up on Christmas morning and having to sing five Christmas songs to finally get him up.

'The only way I can describe this man is as a monster. All I hope for now is that horrible man gets life in prison. I hope he never gets to see any of his family members like I can't see Kevin anymore.'

Cancel’s lawyer Michael Alperstein begged for clemency, citing his client’s long history of mental illness, which began with a suicide attempt aged 10.

The judge noted Cancel's 'chilling and inhuman' remorselessness, and sentenced the murderer with the maximum prison term allowed.

'You showed no hint of mercy or human decency towards Mr Pravia,’ Mr Fitzgerald told Cancel. ‘I don't think you even understand the basic notion of mercy, so you'll get none from me.’

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