Long Branch, NJ – Long Branch – Outgoing Governor Phil Murphy’s decision to grant clemency to convicted child killer Maria Montalvo has sparked outrage across Monmouth County, with Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago issuing a scathing statement condemning the move as “the polar opposite of justice.”
Montalvo, now in her late 50s, was convicted in 1996 for the murders of her two young children, 18-month-old Zoraida-Angelin Aponte and 28-month-old Rafael-Louis Aponte. On February 22, 1994, investigators said, she strapped the children into her Volkswagen Jetta, drove to her in-laws’ home on Buttonwood Avenue, doused them with gasoline, and set the car on fire. Family members witnessed the tragedy as the vehicle erupted in flames.
A jury found Montalvo guilty of murder later that year, rejecting her defense that the act was not intentional. Jurors deadlocked on whether she should face the death penalty, and she was sentenced to 100 years in prison, with 60 years required before parole eligibility. She was not scheduled for parole until 2054.
With one of his final acts before leaving office, Governor Murphy commuted Montalvo’s sentence, allowing her to immediately seek parole. The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office responded with a lengthy and emotional statement from Santiago, calling the governor’s action “a devastating blow to justice.”
“I cannot express strongly enough our Office’s collective revulsion and disbelief upon hearing this news,” Santiago said. “Viewing it through different lenses or from different perspectives does not mitigate our outrage; it magnifies it.”
Santiago reminded the public of the brutality of the crime, the suffering endured by the victims’ family, and the tireless work of investigators, jurors, and prosecutors who ensured Montalvo’s conviction. “Zoraida and Rafael should be 33 and 34 today,” he said. “They were not provided the leniency of any second chances. They were handed a death sentence for the crime of being the children of Maria Montalvo.”
Santiago concluded by describing the governor’s clemency decision as a betrayal of the justice system and the memory of the victims. “Providing this defendant the opportunity for early parole, with half her sentence still to be served, cannot be defended or comprehended,” he said.
Key Points: Murphy grants clemency to mother who burned her two children alive before leaving office – Long Branch
- Governor Phil Murphy granted clemency to convicted child killer Maria Montalvo before leaving office.
- Montalvo was serving a 100-year sentence for setting her two young children on fire in Long Branch in 1994.
- Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago condemned the decision, calling it “the polar opposite of justice.”
