An area 21-year-old college student has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for her role in a 2017 murder, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said on Friday.

Raquel Garajau, 21, of Frontier Way in Tinton Falls, was sentenced on Friday in connection with the murder of Trupal Patel. The sentence carries a minimum of 30 years before she is eligible for release. Once released, Garajau will be under parole supervision for five years. 

Garajau was found guilty, following a jury trial in September of the following crimes in connection with the February 2017 murder of Patel, of Brick: first-degree felony murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit theft of marijuana, theft of marijuana, conspiracy to commit theft of cash, theft of cash, conspiracy to possess a weapon for an unlawful purpose, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, tampering with physical evidence, hindering the apprehension of oneself, hindering the apprehension of another (Villani) and tampering with a witness.

During her sentencing on Friday, Judge Oxley highlighted Garajau’s lack of remorse for her role in the killing. 

The case background …

The trial ran for almost 2 months, beginning on July 17, 2018 and had 35 witnesses, including lay people, law enforcement officials and six experts. Extensive evidence was discovered on the cell phones of both Raquel Garajau and Joseph Villani that included numerous text messages they exchanged, including messages from Garajau to Villani that stated “You need to clean the bullets,” “Take your time bleaching everything. The whole entire door and inside,” “Take that bag of stuff out cause I touched his phone. We will throw that stuff in the ocean,” and “Babe you need to move that car it’s too important. Like ASAP.  People will start noticing he’s not answering.” 

The evidence at the trial also revealed that while Villani was dumping Patel’s body, Garajau told him to “Facetime me please when you are done” and told him “I love you.”

The charges were a result of a joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, Ocean Township, Wall Township, and Asbury Park police departments after Patel was found dead in Shark River Park on Feb. 22, 2017.

A Monmouth County Park Ranger who was collecting litter in the area discovered the body along the side of Gully Road and down a slight slope. The Park Ranger reported the discovery at 8:37 a.m., when officers from the Wall Township Police Department were dispatched to the area and confirmed the presence of a deceased male.

Within a short period of time, the deceased man was identified as Patel and it was discovered that he had been reported missing to the Asbury Park Police Department by a friend on Feb. 9, 2017. A black 2003 Jaguar that Patel was driving prior to his disappearance was discovered abandoned on an Asbury Park street on that same day.  

Ultimately, detectives involved in the investigation determined the incident had occurred at Garajau’s boyfriend, Joseph Villani’s Ocean Township residence in the afternoon of Feb. 6, 2017. Villani was arrested for murder on Feb. 25, 2017. Additional investigations conducted by detectives revealed evidence that Garajau conspired with Villani to commit these crimes and aided him in destroying and concealing evidence in connection with the murder and robbery of Patel. 

Villani pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated manslaughter, armed robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, disturbing human remains and witness tampering on Jan. 4. In pleading guilty, Villani implicated Garajau in planning the robbery that led to Patel’s death and aiding Villani in hiding evidence afterward.  

Villani is scheduled to be sentenced before Judge Oxley on March 21, 2019, when he will face up to 40 years in prison. Villani remains in custody at the Middlesex County Correctional Institution. 

— Edited press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office