Shawn Payne is only charged with murder in the second degree for killing Angela Hart, he should also be charged with rape in the first degree for sexually assaulting her prior to killing her. And because Shawn killed Angela during the commission of rape in the first degree the homicide charge should actually be murder in the first degree, not second degree murder, which (especially combined with the rape charge) would get him sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Shawn Payne's rap sheet says he was convicted of aggravated rape and served five years, however there is no such criminal charge. In the state of New York there is rape in the third degree, rape in the second degree and rape in the first degree; the only sex crime that uses the term "aggravated" is sexual abuse. There is sexual abuse in the third, second and first degree and aggravated sexual abuse in the fourth, third, second and first degree; the difference being sexual abuse is unlawful sexual contact (touching of the genitals) and aggravated sexual abuse is unlawful penetration of the anus, penis, urethra or vagina with either a finger or foreign object.
According to one of the title cards, Angela's murder takes place on January 25. When the police question her boyfriend, he says he was at a bar watching a Yankee game. Baseball season runs from April through October. There are no Yankee games in January.
For the attack on Chelsea Shell, in addition to rape in the first degree Shawn Payne should have also been charged with assault in the first degree, or even attempted murder in the second degree since he beat his victim so badly she had life threatening injuries. Meaning he would have been serving a minimum sentence of 10 years, instead of five, and never would have been on the street to kill Angela Hart in the first place.