Man Convicted Of Burying Woman Alive In South Jersey: Prosecutor

A South Jersey man has been convicted for his role in the disappearance of a woman who was buried alive in 2014, Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson announced on Wednesday.

Carlos Alicea-Antonetti, 39, of Camden, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree robbery and two counts of felony murder in the death of 41-year-old Fatima Perez. The jury further determined that Perez’s murder was “outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman” because she was tortured, authorities said.

Following a three-week trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding Alicea-Antonetti guilty, according to authorities.

Police said Alicea-Antonetti, an acquaintance of Perez, picked her up on May 12, 2014, at her home to take her to buy a new car. Perez had $8,000 for the purchase, according to her family. While Perez was in the car, Alicea-Antonetti also picked up 57-year-old Ramon Ortiz, of Camden. Ortiz was an employee at Alicea-Antonetti's landscaping business, Villa Coamo Landscaping and General Maintenance, police said.

According to the probable cause statement, the two men offered differing accounts of the sequence of events, but both provided information that Perez was left bound and blindfolded with duct tape lying in the back of the van. More duct tape covered her mouth.

The two men were accused of driving to a wooded area near Clayton Road in Monroe Township, where Ortiz used a shovel to dig a hole. They then placed Perez in the hole, covered her in quicklime, and buried her, police said. The two men said Perez was alive when they buried her.

Based on information received during the investigation, Perez appears to have been buried some time after dark that night. Her family reported her missing around 4:26 p.m. that day. Detectives from the Camden County Police Department learned from family Perez was likely with Alicea-Antonetti and Ortiz, and over the next 24 hours, worked to find them.

Sources led police to the Express Inn in Cherry Hill, where the men were staying. Officers from the Camden County Police and the Cherry Hill Police departments arrested the two men at about 3 a.m. on May 14. Alicea-Antonetti had $7,000 in his possession when detained, police said.

According to the probable cause statement, Ortiz led investigators to the location where he and Alicea-Antonetti had buried Perez. Investigators unearthed her remains at about 11 a.m. that day. An autopsy determined Perez’s cause of death was asphyxiation.

Alicea-Antonetti is facing a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 2, 2018. Ortiz, now 60, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on July 21, 2016, after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter. He will serve approximately 21 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.

Image via Shutterstock