Select by gender or name

Murders of Robert Guillaume and Cathy Ayala-Guillaume

In 2023, relatives of 73-year-old Robert Guillaume and 65-year-old Cathy Ayala-Guillaume hadn’t heard from them in days, so they asked authorities to conduct a welfare check.

Authorities found the married couple fatally stabbed inside their home in Rotterdam, New York, on July 7th.

The day before the bodies were found, Guillaume’s son, 31-year-old Anthony Lewis, Jr., crashed while driving his stepfather’s 2022 Buick Encore in Pennsylvania.

Police responded to the scene, and Lewis was taken to the hospital. He was arrested after he was connected to the double murder in Rotterdam.

Detectives used cell phone and fitness apps to determine that the couple was killed on July 4th, and Lewis stayed in the home with the bodies for almost a day before he fled with the two family dogs.

Lewis, who was living with his mother and stepfather at the time of the murders, had once shot a man after a marijuana dispute. Still, this violence against his family was surprising as his mother and stepfather had supported him unconditionally.

Legal Proceedings

He went to trial in May 2025, and the evidence against him was overwhelming.

Prosecutors had his DNA throughout the scene and on the murder weapons. He also had a huge cut on his hand right after the murder, which is a regular occurrence during violent knife attacks.

Authorities also had two witnesses who said Lewis confessed to the murder via phone after he was taken into custody.

Lewis took the stand against the advice of counsel and, in graphic detail, admitted he was the killer; however, he claimed that God told him to kill his mother and stepfather.

The case was a slam dunk, and the jury only needed 30 minutes of deliberation to reach a verdict.

He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder, as well as unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and grand larceny.

He returned to court on July 9th, 2025, for sentencing, where his relatives spoke against him. Lewis’s attorney, Mark Juda, didn’t feel his client should receive the maximum sentence due to mental health reasons.

Juda stated, “The reality is that I was not allowed to argue any type of mental illness or mental disease at trial.”

Lewis spoke next, showing no remorse and ranting that he was “not going to die in prison.”

After his profane rant, Judge Mark Caruso, who was days away from retirement, handed down his verdict. Lewis was given life without parole.

Lewis also received 3-7 years for unauthorized use of a vehicle and 4-8 years for grand larceny. The sentences will run concurrently.