NYC ‘preppie killer’ gets 19 years on drug plea

Robert Chambers could have faced life in prison if convicted at trial

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updated 5:29 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2008

NEW YORK - The man known as New York's "preppie killer" for his looks and prep school background has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to a drug charge.

Robert Chambers was sentenced Tuesday after reaching an agreement last month in a drug deal and an assault on a police officer. He would have faced life in prison if convicted after trial.

The 41-year-old Chambers and girlfriend Shawn Kovell were arrested in October on charges of dealing cocaine. Kovell pleaded guilty.

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Chambers was previously imprisoned for 15 years for strangling a young woman in New York City during what he called rough sex. The slaying made headlines as a story of a handsome, privileged prep school youth gone bad.