Long Branch man indicted by Grand Jury for fatal stabbing of teenager
A Long Branch man has been indicted by a Monmouth County Grand Jury charging him with the fatal stabbing of 16-year old Madison Wells in September, announced Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.
20-year old Bryan Cordero-Castro of 4th Avenue faces several charges including first degree murder for stabbing the young girl he had been dating in the chest.
Cordero-Castro is also charged in the indictment with third degree Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, fourth degree Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, third degree Attempted Escape and fourth degree Stalking.
Investigators say that on September 8, 2018 around 10:42 p.m., a 911 call was placed reporting a stabbing victim in need of medical attention at a Van Pelt Place residence in Long Branch.
Police and EMS were dispatched to the home where they found Wells on the living room floor with stab wounds to her chest.
She was transported to Monmouth Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 11:25 pm.
A joint investigation by the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office and the Long Branch Police Department determined that Cordero-Castro and Madison began dating in November 2017.
Madison had recently ended the relationship and Cordero-Castro then began texting and calling her numerous times in the 9 hour period leading up to the murder.
He found Wells at the Van Pelt Place residence where Madison agreed to go outside and speak to him.
A few minutes after going outside, Madison stumbled back into the house and collapsed on the floor from the stab wounds to her chest.
Cordero-Castro was arrested at his cousin's residence on Morris Avenue in Long Branch about 2 hours after the murder.
Once at The Long Branch Police Department, Cordero-Castro attempted to escape by jumping up and trying to run out of the booking room.
He was quickly stopped by Detective Sergeant Brendan Cahill and Officer Evan Morell, both of the Long Branch Police Department.
If convicted of Murder, Cordero-Castro faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in a New Jersey state prison without parole and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, subject to the provisions of the "No Early Release Act" (NERA) requiring him to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for release on parole.
He would also be under parole supervision for 5 years following his release from state prison.
If convicted of the third degree charges of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Attempted Escape, Cordero-Castro faces a sentence of three to 5 years in prison on each of those charges.
If convicted of the fourth degree charges of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon and Stalking, Cordero-Castro faces up to 18 months in prison on each charge.
Cordero-Castro has been held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since his arrest.
He was ordered detained without bail on September 13, 2018 by the Honorable James J. McGann, J.S.C. Cordero-Castro is scheduled to appear for arraignment before the Honorable Paul X. Escandon, J.S.C. on January 7, 2019.
The case is assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Tara Wilson and Stephanie Dugan. Cordero-Castro is represented by Adam J. Weisberg, Esq. of Ocean Twp.
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