Raritan Double Homicide Suspect a Convicted Killer

Raritan, NJ -- A Raritan man charged with murdering two people on Friday was revealed to already be a convicted killer in connection with a 1991 murder in Cumberland County, authorities said Monday during his first court appearance in Superior Court, according to nj.com.

Ramon Cadiz, also known as Ray, 51, has been arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder in connection with two deceased people found Friday at 46 First Ave in Raritan.

Neighbors and friends have identified the victims as Cadiz’s girlfriend and her 15-year-old daughter who attended school in Bridgewater-Raritan.

Prior criminal history

In 1992, Cadiz was sentenced to 25 years on an aggravated manslaughter charge for killing a man during a bar fight, according to a report on MyCentralJersey.

Cadiz was released after serving eight years because a new state law was not yet in the books that mandates a person convicted of a violent crime must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, according to nj.com.

Department of Corrections records show that Cadiz was released from prison on parole in October 2000. He was back behind bars February 2005 on a parole violation but was released again in June 2007, according to mycentraljersey.com.

“His criminal record includes a 2011 forgery conviction in Hudson County, and a slew of other charges that year, including third-degree aggravated assault and threatening to kill, and second-degree child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child,” according to mycentraljersey.com. “Cadiz took a plea deal that found him guilty just of fourth-degree child abuse, while a Municipal Court judge in Kearny disposed of a simple assault and threat charges.”

Friday’s alleged crime

Raritan police responded a house on First Avenue and Second Street on Dec. 11 around 3:15 p.m. after concerns were reported regarding the welfare of the people who lived there, authorities said.

When police arrived, they found one victim in the second floor master bedroom and another victim on the first floor of the residence. Cadiz allegedly attacked the two victims with a hammer.

A t-shirt and a quilt were used to cover the bodies, which had spray-painted phrases that indicated Cadiz’s anger toward the victims, the affidavit said.

Neighbors said the young girl hadn’t been in school all week and other neighbors had called the police to investigate after reporting a smell coming from the home.

“It’s very disturbing to know that these two innocent people were just laying dead corpses in a house that my children walk by everyday to go to their bus stop,” a neighbor told Patch.

Cadiz was located just before midnight on Dec. 11 by North Brunswick Police. He was found sleeping in the front driver’s seat of his car, which was parked in a dimly lit secluded area of the Colony Oaks Apartment Complex.

Detectives approached the vehicle and arrested Cadiz without incident.

Cadiz is lodged in the Somerset County Jail with bail set at $2,000,000.

(Photo Facebook: Ramon Cadiz with one of his alleged victims Kim Streth.)