Prosecutor: Area 28-Year-Old Man Gets 30 Years for Woman’s 2015 Murder

An area man who pleaded guilty to the 2015 murder of a woman in his Long Branch home in 2015 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced on Tuesday.

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 (NERA), in accordance with the terms set down at sentencing by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley.

The case background …

Shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, Long Branch police responded to a call at a home on the 100 block of Rockwell Avenue in Long Branch. There they found 40-year-old Jennifer Pizzuto in an upstairs bedroom, having sustained numerous severe injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

An investigation involving members of the MCPO Major Crimes Bureau and the Long Branch Police Department resulted in Aparicio-Reyes being identified as a suspect. He was arrested in Long Branch shortly after 3 p.m. the next day. He was found hiding at a friend’s house before he could follow through on a plan to flee across the country.

Evidence presented during a trial that ended in May 2018 revealed that Aparicio-Reyes had strangled Pizzuto after brutally beating her, with blows to her face and head, following an argument. The beating and strangulation caused her death.

Pizzuto 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 of 2023.

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