LONG BRANCH – A local man has been sentenced to 30 years in state prison after he admitted to killing a woman in his Long Branch home in 2015, officials said.
Christopher Aparicio-Reyes, 28, must serve at least 85 percent of his sentence prior to the possibility of parole under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, in accordance with the terms set down at sentencing.
On December 13, 2015, around 10:30 p.m., police found 40-year-old Jennifer Pizzuto severely injured in an upstairs bedroom of a home on Rockwell Avenue in Long Branch. Authorities said Pizzuto was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police later identified Aparicio-Reyes as a suspect, and he was apprehended in Long Branch shortly after 3 p.m. the next day. Police said he was found hiding at a friend’s house, before he could follow through on a plan to flee across the country.
During a trial held in May 2018, evidence showed that Aparicio-Reyes had strangled Pizzuto after brutally beating 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.
After consulting with Pizzuto’s surviving family, plea negotiations resulted in Aparicio-Reyes pleading guilty to Aggravated Manslaughter in May 2023.
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