Man Killed Monmouth Girl, 16, After She Broke Up With Him: MCPO

A New Jersey man has been indicted after he allegedly killed a 16-year old girl who had just broken up with him, prosecutors say. Once arrested, the suspect attempted to escape by jumping up and trying to run out of the booking room at the police station.

The girl had recently ended the relationship resulting in the suspect texting and calling her numerous times in the 9-hour period leading up to the murder, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

A Monmouth County grand jury this week returned a five count indictment charging a Long Branch man with the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Madison Wells in Long Branch, announced Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.

Bryan Cordero-Castro, 20, of Long Branch was indicted this week on charges of first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, third-degree attempted escape and fourth-degree stalking, prosecutors say.

A GoFundMe page was set up to pay for Madison's funeral expenses.

The incident happened on Sept. 8 at approximately 10:42 p.m. when a 911 call was placed reporting a stabbing victim in need of medical attention at a Van Pelt Place residence within Long Branch, prosecutors said.

Long Branch officers and EMS were dispatched to the home where they found the 16-year-old girl 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

After the break-up, Cordero-Castro ultimately located the victim at the Van Pelt Place residence where Madison agreed to go outside and speak to him, according to the MCPO.

A few minutes after going outside, Madison stumbled back into the house and collapsed on the floor from the stab wounds to her chest, according to the MCPO.

Cordero-Castro was arrested at his cousin’s residence on Morris Avenue in Long Branch approximately two 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, according to the MCPO.

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. He would be 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, prosecutors say.

He would also be under parole supervision for 5 years following his release from state prison, prosecutors say.

Cordero-Castro has been held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution since his arrest. He was ordered detained without bail on Sept. 13 by state Superior Court Judge James J. McGann. Cordero-Castro is scheduled to appear for arraignment before state Superior Court Judge Paul X. Escandon on Jan. 7, 2019.

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