Judges Reject Latest Appeal From Man Who Raped, Killed Keansburg Girl

KEANSBURG, NJ — Last Thursday, Oct. 12 three New Jersey Superior Court judges rejected the latest appeal attempt from the man convicted of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in Keansburg in 2017.

The man is Andreas Erazo, 24, who grew up in Middletown but was living in Keansburg at the time of the crime. He was 18 when he kidnapped, raped and then fatally stabbed Abbiegail Smith, his 11-year-old downstairs neighbor. The two lived a few doors down from each other in the same Keansburg apartment building.

Erazo is currently serving life in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and aggravated sexual assault of a victim under the age of thirteen. He must serve 63 years of his life sentence before becoming eligible for parole.

Erazo grew up in Middletown. He went to New Monmouth elementary, Thorne Middle School and Middletown High School.

Erazo has filed multiple appeals since he was sentenced to life in prison. Each of his appeals has been filed by the same lawyer who continues to represent him, Morgan Birck, a Monmouth County public defender.

His latest appeal, which you can read here, argues that his sentence was "excessive as the trial court relied upon statements from the victim's family denigrating the defendant."

Abbiegail's mother, aunts and other extended family members spoke at his sentencing. The convicted child rapist and killer argues their negative comments "that verbally attacked him" swayed the judge in his sentencing.

The three Monmouth County Superior Court judges said bluntly: "We disagree. In the case of a homicide, the victim's survivors may make an in-person statement directly to the sentencing court concerning the impact of the crime."

His lawyer also argued that Erazo was subject to "cruel and unusual punishment" due to the length of the sentence he was given when he was only 18. The judges said they disagreed with that argument, also.

On the night of July 12, 2017 Erazo raped the pre-teen girl in his apartment and killed the child by stabbing her in the neck with a knife. The next day, the police found the girl's body tied with computer cords and wrapped in a futon cover on a section of the roof of a shed outside his bedroom window.

Erazo was victorious in one appeal his lawyer filed: In 2022, Brick argued that detectives with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's office violated his Miranda rights when they first questioned him. in that instance, a judge re-examined the sentencing, but still upheld his life-in-prison sentence.

The public defender assigned to Erazo previously argued that Erazo was raised by a single mother and was later placed in a group home. He was living with a maternal aunt when he killed the girl. They say Erazo suffered from "major depressive disorder, ADHD, bipolar disorder," and had made multiple suicide attempts. He also had been abusing drugs, including cocaine and heroin, since the age of twelve.

Accused Keansburg Killer Andreas Erazo 'Had Demons,' Friend Says (2017)

Life Sentence For Keansburg Killer (2019)