RAHWAY, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man has admitted strangling his live-in girlfriend as their young child slept nearby, just days before he was due to stand trial in the slaying.
Union County prosecutors say 42-year-old Ignacio Ortiz Vasquez pleaded guilty this week to murder and child endangerment charges in the September 2015 death of 27-year-old Yuri Cruz. The pleas were made public Wednesday.
Vasquez’s trial was due to start Tuesday. He now faces a possible life term when he’s sentenced June 8.
Rahway police found Cruz unresponsive when they responded to the couple’s home. She was pronounced dead there a short time later.
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Prosecutors say Vasquez strangled Cruz in her bed as she slept, just feet away from their son. Vasquez then left the scene but was arrested later that day.
A motive for the slaying hasn’t been disclosed.