29 Years Later, Man Admits to Murdering His Ex-girlfriend in Buena, NJ

Authorities say a man charged with brutally murdering his ex-girlfriend in Buena nearly three decades ago has admitted to the crime.

Last Thursday, 53-year-old Francisco Martinez pleaded guilty to stabbing Patricia Boney on February 25, 1994. His plea to an aggravated manslaughter charge calls for him to serve a 20-year sentence.

According to the Atlantic County Prosecutor's Office, on that day, Martinez went to 111 N. Harding Highway in Buena Borough to confront Boney, who had moved on from him and had no desire to reunite.

Martinez stabbed her over seventeen times in front of their one-and-a-half-year-old child while Boney lay in her bed. He quickly fled the scene using Boney’s vehicle. Boney’s nine and eleven-year-old children found her lying in bed with their baby brother covered in blood and called 911.

Officers at the scene spoke to Boney who identified Martinez as her killer before she died.

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An autopsy noted multiple wounds on her arms and hands and a four-and-a-half-inch wound that penetrated her heart.

After the slaying of Ms. Boney, Martinez fled in her 1982 Camaro which was discovered in Houston, Texas on March 8, 1994. It is believed that he crossed the border into Mexico where he successfully hid under an assumed identity for over twenty-five years.

Martinez remained one of New Jersey’s most wanted fugitives for years and was once featured on the TV show "America’s Most Wanted."

Detectives from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the authorities in Mexico, located Martinez living and working in the Sinaloa region.

Utilizing diplomatic channels, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, Interpol, and the U.S. Department of State located and extradited Martinez from Mexico to New Jersey last year to answer for the charges.

Martinez remains in jail and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8th.