New Jersey man found guilty of strangling teen girlfriend to death

PLAINFIELD, N.J. (TCD) -- A jury convicted a 23-year-old man this week of strangling his girlfriend to death in 2020.

On Tuesday, July 11, a Union County jury returned the guilty verdict against Bryan Gonzalez Martines on one count of first-degree murder following a monthlong trial, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office announced. The jury deliberated for less than a day.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, on the morning of Monday, July 6, 2020, the Plainfield Police Department conducted a welfare check at a home in the 700 block of Kensington Avenue and found 19-year-old Brenda Montoya-Cruz deceased.

The Prosecutor’s Office said the victim died of asphyxiation.

An affidavit obtained by NJ.com alleges the victim’s boyfriend, Gonzalez Martines, was inside the apartment on the day of the welfare check, but as police were responding to the home, he jumped off a second-story roof and escaped.

Inside the apartment, officers reportedly found Gonzalez Martines’ wallet, and a juvenile neighbor identified him to police.

Police arrested the suspect the next day and booked him into the Union County Jail.

According to NJ.com, Gonzalez Martines’ father was the one who asked police to conduct the welfare check after his son allegedly told him he had done "something bad."

A week before the victim’s death, Montoya-Cruz allegedly reported to Plainfield Police that Gonzalez Martines had assaulted and threatened her, and he was charged with aggravated assault.

Gonzalez Martines is set to be sentenced Sept. 29 and faces up to life in state prison.

MORE:

• Plainfield man found guilty in 2020 strangulation murder — Union County Prosecutor’s Office
• Plainfield Man Charged with Murder in Connection with Fatal Strangulation, 7/10/2020 — Union County Prosecutor’s Office
• N.J. man convicted in strangulation murder of girlfriend — NJ.com
• Union County Jail Records