Former N.J. basketball star pleads guilty to slitting 19-year-old sex club worker’s throat in Tijuana

TIJUANA, Mexico (TCD) -- A 28-year-old former basketball star from New Jersey pleaded guilty to killing a 19-year-old woman at a well-known local sex club and nightclub in 2021.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, a judge sentenced Logan Kelley to 22 years in prison for the death of Isis Atalia Montoya. She has a young son, and Kelley was also ordered to pay about $40,000 in restitution to the boy’s extended family.

In February 2021, video reportedly shows Kelley at Adelita’s nightclub wearing a hooded sweatshirt and mask, grabbing Montoya from behind, and slicing her neck with a 4-inch pocketknife. The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Kelley threw her down to the ground, then ran away. A security guard followed, and Kelley was detained at the scene.

Border Report shared a photo of the knife Kelley reportedly used to kill Montoya. It’s a black knife with a stamp of an assault rifle on it and "special forces" written on the blade. Investigators reportedly thought Kelley was in the Marines because of the weapon, but military officials said, "There is no record of this person ever serving in the Marine Corps."

According to NJ.com, Kelley started seeing another woman from Adelita’s outside the club for about five months, and she and Kelley allegedly got in an argument days before the fatal incident. The woman, who NJ.com identified only as Isabella, reportedly did not work the night Kelley came in and killed Montoya.

Isabella told the publication, "One of the girls from the club told me later, 'You know what? You escaped your death because he was coming for you.'"

Kelley reportedly played basketball for Rutgers University in New Jersey for one year, but before that, he became the leading scorer at Governor Livingston High School, NJ.com reports.

According to NJ.com, Kelley was initially charged with femicide, which is considered a hate crime in Mexico and carries 40 to 60 years in prison.

Montoya’s father, Jose Montoya, told NJ.com he was "very frustrated by all the corruption and the deception" because video footage shows Kelley "practically decapitating her."

He said, "I wanted justice, but justice was not served in this whole process."

MORE:

• Ex-Rutgers basketball player gets 22 years in prison for killing Tijuana nightclub worker - San Diego Union-Tribune
• Ex-Rutgers walk-on Logan Kelley gets 22 years for Tijuana murder as victim’s father decries injustice - NJ.com
• Ex-Rutgers basketball player admits to brutal killing of Tijuana prostitute - Border Report
• Former Rutgers basketball player and N.J. high school star arrested for allegedly killing woman in Mexico, 2/13/2021 - NJ.com
• The Predator in Plain Sight, 9/27/2021 - NJ.com