Montclair Lawyer Convicted Of Murdering Mother Of His Child

MONTCLAIR, NJ — James R. Ray III, the Montclair lawyer who shot the mother of his 6-year-old daughter and then fled to Cuba nearly five years ago, has been convicted of first-degree murder.

A jury convicted Ray of murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose on Friday. Jurors deliberated for only three hours before delivering their verdict, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The 2018 murder occurred in the house the couple shared with their daughter on North Mountain Avenue in Montclair. Here’s what happened, according to prosecutors:

“On October 22, 2018, Ray shot Angela Bledsoe, 44, in the chest, face and back, shortly after she returned home after dropping their daughter off at school. Ray then prepared several documents and went to a local bank, where he withdrew checks and cash. He picked his daughter up from school and dropped her off with his brother at a New Jersey restaurant. He asked his brother to take care of his daughter and then abruptly left the restaurant. Ray traveled through the southwestern United States and into Mexico, where he booked a flight to Cuba.”

Ray was returned to the United States by law enforcement officials on Nov. 6, 2018, and has been in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark since then, authorities said.

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On the day of Bledsoe’s death, she had a meeting scheduled with a realtor to find a place of her own; she was planning to move out of the house she shared with Ray, prosecutors said.

Ray and Bledsoe’s daughter remains with her family members, authorities said.

Ray was raised in Brooklyn and spent two years as a New York City police officer before earning a master’s of business administration degree and going to law school. He also served in the U.S. Marines.

His attorney argued that Ray killed Bledsoe – his girlfriend of nine years – in self-defense when she picked up a gun and pointed it at him while he was cleaning his guns in their family room, NorthJersey.com reported.

• See Related: Montclair Man Says He Shot Girlfriend In Self-Defense, Report Says

However, assistant prosecutor Michele Miller, who tried the case along with assistant prosecutor John Petillo, appealed to jurors to think about whether it made sense that Ray – a working attorney – would be cleaning his guns on a Monday morning and would have fled to Cuba afterwards.

“These are not the actions of a man who acted in self-defense,” she said.

Miller pointed out that Bledsoe’s parents and other family members were in the courtroom on Friday when the verdict was read.

“They waited a long time for this day,” she said.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 22. Ray – who is now 60-years-old – faces the possibility of a life sentence in New Jersey state prison, prosecutors said.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore Stephens credited the Montclair Police Department, the Allentown Police Department in Pennsylvania, the New Jersey State Police, the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, Interpol, and the U.S. Department of State for their efforts in the investigation and in Ray's apprehension.

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