Queens Landlord David Daniel Gets Three Life Sentences for St. Albans Triple Murder

Milburn Street, St. Albans, Queens

Key Facts

What Happened

A Queens landlord who “mercilessly slaughtered” his girlfriend and two tenants was sentenced to three life terms on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, after turning down a plea deal, the New York Post reported.

David Daniel, 56, was convicted in May 2026 of fatally slashing the throat of his live-in girlfriend, Coleen Fields, and killing his basement tenants, Wayne Thomas and Evette Sweeney, at his St. Albans home on November 14, 2023. According to law-enforcement sources cited by the Post, Daniel told police he killed the trio because he was “having issues” with his girlfriend and because the tenants were behind on their rent. He told reporters he acted because he was under “a lot of pressure.”

Just hours after the stabbings, Daniel calmly walked into the NYPD’s 113th Precinct stationhouse and told the desk officer, “I did something bad.” He gave officers his address and said he had left the back door unlocked.

The Sentencing

At Tuesday’s hearing in Queens Supreme Court, Daniel was given the chance to address the victims’ families but never apologized. Justice Kenneth Holder condemned him from the bench.

“You need to come to terms with the evil that resides inside of you,” Holder said, according to the Post. “And I’m sure there’s a special place in hell for someone like you.” When Daniel complained that a probation report made him look bad, the judge shot back: “Make you look bad? You killed three people. You stabbed a disabled woman to death in her bedroom while she was sleeping. What gets worse than that?”

Prosecutors said Daniel had been offered a plea deal carrying a sentence of 33 years to life but rejected it — a decision the judge attributed to the “Rikers Island Bar Association.” Family members delivered wrenching victim-impact statements. Wayne Thomas’s sister, Petula Thomas, described her brother’s killer as a “demonic, self-centered, insecure, and cold-hearted narcissist.” Evette Sweeney’s daughter, Charlene McKenzie, told the court, “You did not take a life, you destroyed a family.”

Location Context

The murders occurred at 122-39 Milburn Street in St. Albans, a residential neighborhood in southeastern Queens. While this case falls within New York City, St. Albans sits just west of the Nassau County line — near the Queens–Long Island border communities of Elmont, Floral Park, and Valley Stream — and the sentencing was handed down at Queens Supreme Court in Jamaica. The case has drawn attention across the broader Long Island region given its proximity and severity. For local incident coverage closer to home, see our Nassau County reports and the Long Island crime blotter.

Background

Daniel was taken into custody the day of the killings after his walk-in confession at the 113th Precinct. The case proceeded to trial in 2026, where a Queens jury convicted him on all counts the month before his sentencing. With three life sentences imposed and no parole eligibility, the case is now closed. The proceedings underscore how plea negotiations can dramatically alter outcomes: by rejecting the 33-years-to-life offer and going to trial, Daniel ultimately received a far harsher sentence.