Beaten, Strangled, Stabbed In Tent: 3 Sentenced To Decades: DA

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY — Three men have been sentenced to decades in prison for their roles in the 2025 killing of a man inside a tent along Suffolk Avenue, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.

Brayan Heredia Escobar, 20, of Guatemala; Jhon Lopez Campos, 19, of El Salvador; and Julio Beltran, 40, of El Salvador were each sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, the men beat, strangled, and stabbed 39-year-old Candido Guadalupe Saravia Martinez to death.

According to court documents and the defendants’ admissions, Suffolk County Police Department discovered the victim’s body on Feb. 18, 2025, inside a tent near Suffolk Avenue in Central Islip.

Inside the tent, police recovered a machete and a knife covered in blood, prosecutors said. Surveillance video showed the three defendants running from the tent after the attack, according to prosecutors.

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined the victim died from a combination of blunt-force trauma, strangulation, and a stab wound to the neck, prosecutors said.

Lopez Campos and Beltran admitted to holding the victim down while Lopez Campos repeatedly struck him with the handle of a machete, prosecutors said. Lopez Campos also admitted he handed a knife to Heredia Escobar and directed him to stab the victim.

Beltran, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, was sentenced on Feb. 26 to 21 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, prosecutors said. He was represented by Katherine Fernandez.

Heredia Escobar, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 8, 2026, was sentenced on Feb. 27 to 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, prosecutors said. He was represented by Peter Mayer.

Lopez Campos, who pleaded guilty on Jan. 7, 2026, was sentenced on March 27, 2026, to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, prosecutors said. He was represented by Christopher Gioe.

The attorneys were not immediately available for a request for comment.

“While nothing can undo this senseless loss of life, we hope these sentences bring some measure of justice for a man whose circumstances made him vulnerable, but whose life nonetheless had worth and dignity,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said. “Any form of violence will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”