Monmouth County, NJ, Man Killed a Woman in 2015, Now He Goes to Jail For 30 Years

A man from Monmouth County has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison for killing a woman in 2015.

28-year-old Christopher Aparicio-Reyes was sentenced on Tuesday, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago's office, and he must serve 85 percent, or just over 25 years, of his term before becoming eligible for parole.

Authorities say on the night of Sunday, December 13th, 2015, officers with the Long Branch Police Department responding to a home on the 100 block of Rockwell Avenue and found 40-year-old Jennifer Pizzuto in an upstairs bedroom, "having sustained numerous severe injuries."

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A fast-moving investigation resulted in Aparicio-Reyes being identified as a suspect and he was apprehended in Long Branch the next day before he could execute his plan to flee across the country.

Evidence presented during a trial that ended in May 2018 revealed that Aparicio-Reyes had strangled Pizzuto after brutally beating her about her face and head following an argument, causing her death.

He was convicted at trial and initially sentenced to life in prison before an appellate panel overturned his conviction on procedural grounds in August 2021 and ordered a new trial.

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After consulting with Pizzuto's surviving family, plea negotiations resulted in Aparicio-Reyes pleading guilty to an aggravated manslaughter charge back in May.