Croydon Man Who Cut Ambitious Young Woman’s Life Short Sentenced

Jenna Richards wanted three to four kids and a house with a big yard to have her family and friends over.

The driven and determined 22-year-old resident of Bristol Township’s Croydon knew what she wanted and was working toward those goals.

However, her life was cut short on the evening of December 20, 2016 when a suicidal man whose urine tested positive for heroin, cocaine, and Xanax slammed his older-model GMC SUV into Richards’ Nissan Sentra just a few streets from her parent’s home.

No house with her boyfriend. No kids. No parties with her friends and family.

The man who was responsible for the violent crash at River Road and Cedar Avenue in Croydon was in a courtroom in the Justice Center in Doylestown Monday morning. Before Bucks County Judge Brian McGuffin, Louis Gene Demora, 53, of Croydon, was sentenced to serve 17.5 to 40 years in state prison.

The sentencing for Demora came months after a jury convicted him of third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, DUI, reckless driving, and related offenses.

Demora, who has a long record of breaking the law, “cheated us out of seeing what Jenna Richards was going to be [and] all of the great things she would have done,” the judge said in court.

Demora was a “man without remorse” who did not change his ways after a history of breaking driving laws and battling drug addiction, Deputy District Attorney Robert James said.

“Nothing has worked,” James said. “The system didn’t fail this defendant. This defendant failed the system.”

Demora, according to authorities, was speeding at around 90 mph as he raced along narrow River Road when he slammed into Richards’ sedan as she made a turn. She was on her way to the gym and had just Facetimed with her boyfriend.

Law enforcement officials have said previously that DeMora’s reason for speeding in the 25 mph zone was part of a failed attempt to kill himself.

The force of the wreck was so violent that Richards’ Nissan was nearly cut in half. Debris was thrown 150 feet and pushed her car into two vehicles parked in a driveway. Demora’s GMC overturned and was on its roof when first responders arrived.

At the trial last year, Richard’s father testified that he was at home two blocks away wrapping Christmas gifts when the crash happened. He walked to the scene after hearing from a friend and learned his daughter was dead.

“Something was going to happen,” the judge said in court Monday. “Just flying down the road like a heat-seeking missile bent on destruction … This is the definition of malice.”

Demora’s two daughters asked the judge to sentence him to a term that would not be the rest of his life. They defended him and denied he was not out to kill anyone.

“It was a tragic accident, and I didn’t set out to hurt nobody,” Demora said.

“You’ve been given every opportunity,” the judge responded to Demora. “None of it has worked. The community needs to be protected.”

Richards’ family and boyfriend read their victim impact statements before the court. They lovingly and at times tearfully talked about Richards, who was a soccer player at Holy Family University and worked in pretrial services for the U.S. District Court in Trenton. She had studied criminal justice at the university and graduated summa cum laude.

“Jenna was a healthy, athletic, intelligent, beautiful person who had a smile for everyone she met,” Donna Richards told the court.

“In a series of three quick phone calls I was told that Jenna was involved in an accident and that my daughter was gone.”

“There was no trip to the hospital, no time to pray that the injuries were not that serious, no time to pray for a miracle.”

Donna Richards referred to Demora by his prison inmate number and would not repeat his name.

“Inmate 081137 received surgery,” she said. “My daughter received an autopsy.”

William Richards, the father of the victim, recalled all of the memories he will miss out on due to her loss.

“The hardest part is no more chances to say ‘I love you,’” he said. “All are gone for a lifetime.”

Jenna Richards youngest sister Keri read her statement to the court.

“A large part of my heart is just gone….” she said. “Her life meant nothing to Inmate 081137, but she meant a lot to many people. He has taken her away from us with not a single shred of remorse. He has robbed my parents and family of the opportunity to watch Jenna continue to grow into the wonderful woman she was beginning to blossom into.”

“[Jenna] was intelligent, funny, loved sports, and worked hard every day. She was a beautiful girl who was always smiling,” her boyfriend Brandon Sweeney, a Philadelphia police officer, wrote in a victim impact statement. “Jenna was perfect in my eyes.”

Sweeney said he suffers from depression due to the untimely loss of his girlfriend.

“I think Mr. Demora needs to suffer like I suffer every single day without the love of my life.”