The upstairs neighbor of an 11-year-old has pleaded guilty to her 2017 murder and sexual assault, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni announced.

Andreas Erazo, 20, of Keansburg, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to first-degree murder and first-degree aggravated sexual assault in connection with the July 13, 2017 death of Abbiegail “Abbie” Smith, who was found just hours after she was reported missing from her Hancock Street apartment in Keansburg.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the state will recommend a sentence of life in prison, subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring Erazo to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole.

That statute deems a sentence of life in prison to be 75 years, which means Erazo would be required to serve 63 years, nine months and three days before he would be eligible for release on parole. Upon release, Erazo would also be subject to parole supervision for life, and Megan’s Law. The plea agreement was made after consultation with the victim’s family.

The case background …

Erazo was charged after Keansburg police responded to 16 Hancock St. at 9:24 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, after receiving a report the resident’s 11-year-old daughter was missing. Keansburg police launched a missing person’s investigation and notified the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office of the situation in the overnight hours of July 13. A joint investigation into Smith’s disappearance was launched.

At 10:20 a.m., detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office’s Forensic and Technical Services Bureau were behind the apartment complex, which includes the victim’s residence. While in the rear yard, detectives found an object wrapped up in what appeared to be a blanket or comforter on a rear roof of the complex. Upon closer inspection, they found what appeared to be the deceased body of the 11-year old victim. An autopsy determined that the body was Smith’s and had been sexually assaulted and fatally stabbed. 

As the murder investigation continued, police identified and ultimately charged Erazo, the young girl’s upstairs neighbor, with murder and weapons charges.

Erazo is scheduled to appear for sentencing before the Monmouth County Superior Court’s presiding criminal judge, David F. Bauman, on May 31. He remains incarcerated in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, where he has been detained since his arrest.  

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Diane Aifer and Michael Luciano. Erazo is represented by Michael Wicke, Esq. of Freehold.

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