An undocumented immigrant from Guatemala on Friday was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend in New Jersey and then attempting to escape from custody.
Bryan Cordero-Castro, 22, appeared before Superior Court Judge Marc Lemieux at Monmouth County Courthouse and was handed a sentence of 30 years in prison for aggravated manslaughter.
He received an additional five-year prison term on the attempted escape charge, which is to run consecutively to the 30-year sentence.
Cordero-Castro pleaded guilty last November to killing 16-year-old Madison Wells by knifing her in the chest in front of her horrified family at her aunt's home in Long Branch in September 2018.
The attack came after Wells broke up with Cordero-Castro, who refused to accept the split and continued bombarding her with hundreds of text messages.
The defendant later recanted his admission of guilt and made an unsuccessful attempt to withdraw his plea, claiming that his lawyer had deceived him.
Judge Lemieux said on Friday that he was disturbed by Cordero-Castro's change of heart and accused him of taking no responsibility for his crimes, reported
Asbury Park Press.
'I see zero amount of remorse and I am extremely concerned this defendant doesn’t get the magnitude of what he has done,' Lemieux said.
The victim's relatives openly poured scorn on Cordero-Castro, hurling expletives at him and telling him to 'burn in hell.'
'You're hated by thousands. You're going to hell,' Madison's older sister, Christina Wells, told the defendant.
During sentencing, the judge said Wells' family had desperately tried to protect her from Cordero-Castro, but instead they were force to witness her killing.
'Her family members literally watched her die on the floor,' he said.
Cordero-Castro was arrested at his cousin’s home on Morris Avenue in Long Branch two hours later.
Once at the Long Branch Police Department, Cordero-Castro attempted to escape by jumping up and trying to run out of the booking room after shouting, 'bye,' but he was quickly caught.
Under the provisions of the 'No Early Release Act,' Cordero-Castro will be required to serve 85 per cent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.
Bryan Cordero Castro, 22, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter and attempted escape in the September 2018 fatal stabbing of Madison Wells in New Jersey.
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