Man Arrested At Newark Airport, Charged With Murder Of Hudson County Mom Of 2

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — Crystal Ojeda, 40, was a mom of two boys, was studying to become a nurse at Hudson County Community College, and "enjoyed observing the moon and astronomy," according to her obituary.

Her life was cut short on Oct. 9, 2020, when she was allegedly killed by Erick Acosta of Bayonne, who then headed to Colombia, according to prosecutors.

The Hudson County Prosecutor's office said Friday that Acosta, 35, was taken into custody on Wednesday by U.S. Marshals from the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Acosta has been charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and tampering with evidence, prosecutors said Friday.

He was arrested at Newark Liberty International Airport on Wednesday after being extradited from Colombia, prosecutors said. He is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility pending his first court appearance.

He originally had been arrested on Oct. 22, 2022 by Colombian authorities, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that on Oct. 9, 2020, shortly before 1 p.m., members of the Bayonne Police Department responded to 30 Lord Ave. to perform a welfare check of a resident.

Police "found an unresponsive female victim with visible trauma," they said.

Ojeda was pronounced dead at approximately 1:55 p.m.

The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head.

Prosecutor Esther Suarez credited the Homicide Unit, United States Marshals Service, and the U.S.Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, with the investigation, and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché’s Office in Bogota, Colombia, who worked with Colombian authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Acosta.

Read Ojeda's obituary here.