Ray D’Amelio, a senior art director for MRM Partners Worldwide, was one of three people killed this week in a brutal rampage on the Lower East Side of New York.
D’Amelio, 49, was shot in the neck his in his Grand St. apartment at around 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to local news reports. The alleged murderer, Steve Santos, 20, also killed Sara and Larry Sprung, an elderly couple who lived in the same building.
Shocked MRM staff members placed flowers and candles in D’Amelio’s office when they heard of the tragedy, according to agency spokesman Ray Roel.
D’Amelio joined MRM, formerly McCann Direct, in 1996. Prior to that, he worked for Bates, where he won a Clio for a Peace Core campaign, and for Ogilvy.
During his years at MRM, D’Amelia worked on an Aventis Pharmaceuticals campaign for Taxotere, and also handled campaigns for Spring, Black & Decker and St. John’s University. He graduated cum laude from Pratt Institute.
“He was a talented but modest man,” said Roel. “He was hard working, and a generous and kind spirit. There’s no telling how many people knew him, and what an impact he had on the agency in a quiet, self-effacing way.”
According to news accounts, Santos stayed in D’Amelio’s apartment, drinking his liquor after he killed him. Then he killed the Sprungs, who were both in their eighties. He also sexually assaulted Mrs. Sprung.
Police said Santos was high on drugs when he committed the murders.
New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a friend of the Sprungs, has demanded the death penalty for the crime.
There will be memorial service for D’Amelio on Wednesday, June 19th, at the United Nations Chapel on 44th St. and First Ave. in New York.
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