Mahopac man who killed his wife loses appeal of murder conviction

CARMEL – A man who pled guilty to strangling his wife to death in late 2010 has lost the appeal of his conviction.
Paul Amay pled guilty in November 2011 to killing Gloria Zhingri, 19, at her parents’ home in Mahopac. Her body was found at 3 a.m. on Christmas Eve in 2010.
At the time of the crime, Amay he was free on bail awaiting deportation to his native Ecuador.
Amay, who is now 32, pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison.  At the time of his sentencing, he waived his right to appeal, but he later filed court papers contending he was deprived of the effective assistance of legal counsel.
The Appellate Division of State Supreme Court rejected that claim in a decision filed on Wednesday, December 27, 2017.