BROOKLYN, NY – On Thursday, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office confirmed the sentencing of Ricky Gonzalez, 39, of Beacon, New York. Gonzalez received 25 years to life in prison for the murder of his girlfriend and subsequent theft of her Social Security benefits.
Maria Quinones, 58, was killed by Gonzalez between March 5 and September 30, 2014, in her Bushwick, Brooklyn home. The defendant allegedly stabbed Quinones from behind with a butcher knife, dismembered her body, and discarded the remains in trash bags placed curbside. Despite extensive search efforts, Quinones’ body was never found.
The investigation revealed that Gonzalez stole Quinones’ Social Security card, passport, license, and other Social Security-related documents. Over the following four years, he reportedly siphoned off $68,000 from her Social Security benefits.
Quinones was reported missing by her sister on September 10, 2014, after losing contact with her since March of that year.
On August 28, 2018, Gonzalez confessed to killing Quinones at the 1st Police Precinct in Manhattan. He was found guilty of second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, third-degree grand larceny, first-degree identity theft, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property following a jury trial on April 3, 2023.