Man Gets 75 Years For Choking Life Out Of Girlfriend On Easter

ELIZABETH, NJ — A Union County man was sentenced to 75 years in state prison for the brutal strangling his girlfriend to death on Easter Sunday in 2016 before fleeing the state with their infant daughter, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced Monday.

Arturo Alomas, 35, of Elizabeth must serve a minimum of 85 percent of the term before the possibility of parole under the conditions imposed Friday for the death of 26-year-old Trenice Johnson.

Superior Court Judge Lisa Miralles Walsh said it was “fortunate” that the victim’s child was so young at the time of her mother’s death and did not have the capacity to understand or remember what happened.

Walsh also cited the brutal nature of the murder, saying Alomas “choked the life out of Trenice” before placing a plastic bag over her head and wrapping duct tape and an electrical cord around her neck, binding her arms and legs together with duct tape.

“This was a crime of unthinkable depravity,” Monahan said, “and a life sentence was more than warranted.”

Johnson was found dead by police inside her apartment at the Mravlag Manor housing complex in Elizabeth at around 6 p.m. on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Armando Suarez, who prosecuted the case.

The cause of Johnson's death was found to be manual neck compression, with the manner of death determined to be homicide, according to an autopsy conducted by the Union County Medical Examiner's Office.

Alomas was identified as a suspect in the case and later arrested after he tried to escape from police in North Carolina following an attempted traffic stop, according to the report.

The 2-month-old daughter was found unharmed in the vehicle during the course of his arrest, according to the report.

Alomas remained lodged in Union County Jail on $1 million bail while awaiting a two-week trial before Judge Walsh that ended with a guilty verdict in August 2018.

Johnson's family members spoke during Friday’s sentencing hearing stating "the senseless nature of the killing, which took place as she arrived home after celebrating her birthday with friends and family," according to the release.

No motive for the crime was ever revealed.

One of Johnson's uncles, who has adopted her now 2-year-old girl, said he promised to continue giving her the love and support he said she deserves during court.

“Ironically, after murdering Trenice, the mother of his child, this defendant fled to North Carolina to his own mother — the person defendant knew, regardless of circumstances, would open her door for him,” Suarez said. “Yet this defendant robbed four children, all under the age of 10, of just that: their mother. Tragically, Trenice’s four children will never have their mother to run to, turn to, or look to, for the rest of their lives.”