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Widow's Letter Blasts Killer

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By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 4, 2008

TAMPA - Anguished words from a murder victim's family came Thursday to a Hillsborough County courtroom from the Middle East.

A shackled Gregory Everett McCray, 51, listened during his sentencing hearing as a prosecutor read aloud a letter written by David Yahya Kiswani's widow. Khaleda Kiswani lamented that her husband's murder on July 20, 2004, fragmented a family that feels forgotten.

"Tell that monster he ruined five people's lives," Assistant State Attorney Jay Pruner read. "We don't have a family ... he destroyed it."

David Kiswani was 39 and a father of four. He worked as a clerk at a Chevron gas station at 802 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., where McCray jumped over the counter and attacked him.

Kiswani's widow returned to their native country of Jordan with their daughters more than a year after the slaying. Their son remains in the United States, living with an uncle.

Khaleda Kiswani wrote that what hurt her most was not being able to attend the sentencing. She was unable to get a visa, Pruner said.

McCray, who records say once stabbed a storekeeper so hard he broke a bone in the man's jaw, told police he was high on crack and thought Kiswani had triggered an alarm.

McCray realized he could not open the register and left, leaving behind his fingerprints and driver's license.

He was arrested 24 hours later sitting in a vehicle in the Salvation Army facility's parking lot on Florida Avenue.

On Nov. 30, 2006, McCray pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, armed robbery and carjacking to avoid a death sentence.

On Thursday, he spoke briefly to the court, acknowledging the pain the victim's family felt and saying "my family has suffered also."

Circuit Judge Manuel Lopez sentenced McCray to two consecutive life sentences plus 30 years.

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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