Monmouth County Grand Jury Indicts Long Branch Man For 2013 Double Murder

A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted a Long Branch man for the 2013 double murder of a couple found dead in a Sairs Avenue apartment, Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

Carlos I. Menjivar, 23, 45 North Fifth Avenue, was charged with two counts of first degree murder, one count of third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and one count of fourth degree unlawful possession of a weapon, according to the indictment.

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis J. Vernoia set Menjivar’s bail at $2 million, with no ten percent option. He is lodged in the Monmouth County Jail in Freehold.

Menjivar was arrested after a joint investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office’s Major Crimes Bureau, the Long Branch Police Department and the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation began after Maria Catejo-Munoz, 35, of Long Branch, was reported missing around noon on Sunday, March 24, 2013.The search led Long Branch Police to the Sairs Avenue apartment of Fredis O. Ventura, 33, who was romantically involved with Catejo-Munoz, around 4 p.m. on March 25, 2013. The pair were found dead inside the apartment.

Menjivar faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without parole in a New Jersey state prison, another five years for possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and another 18 months for the fourth degree charge of unlawful possession of a weapon, Gramiccioni said.

Anyone with information about this case is urged to contact the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Bureau at 1-800-533-7443.