Young Woman To Be Charged As Adult For Role In Gang Slayings

CENTRAL ISLIP, NY - The decision to prosecute an unidentified woman as an adult in connection to the 2017 murders of four young men in Central Islip was upheld, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s decision to prosecute the woman, known as a "Diablita" as an adult in connection with the murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos.

On the day of the brutal killings, "Diablita" and another female associates of the MS-13 gang lured the five young men, including the four victims, to a community park in Central Islip, the U.S. attorney said. Once they arrived at the park, they led the victims to a wooded area and sent the MS-13 members a text message describing their location, the U.S. attorney said.

Related:

• Feds ID 17 Alleged MS-13 Gang Members Charged In A Dozen Long Island Murders
• Hundreds Mourn Victims Of Gang Killings
• Suffolk Communities Come Together To Mourn Four Young Men Killed By Gang Members
• MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty For Role In Quadruple Murder: Feds
• Another MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty For Role in Quadruple Murder: Feds
• MS-13 Member Sentenced To 50 Years Prison For Quadruple Murder
• MS-13 Member Sentenced To Prison For Role In Quadruple Murder

Then the MS-13 members and associates surrounded the victims and killed Llivicura, Lopez, Tigre and Villalobos using machetes, knives and wooden clubs, the U.S. attorney said. The fifth intended victim escaped. After the attack, the victims' bodies were dragged to a more secluded spot and the gang members fled, the U.S. attorney said. The four bodies were discovered the following evening. Several gang members have already been arrested in connection to the incident.

The woman, who was just shy of 18-years-old at the time of the killings, allegedly "instigated the murders" along with another teenage girl by finding photographs of some of the victims flashing MS-13 gang signs on social media. which was viewed as disrespectful because the victims were not members of the gang. The girls then showed those photographs to MS-13 members and participated in meetings to plan the murders. They later lured the unsuspecting victims to the Central Islip woods where they were murdered.

In addition, according to the decision, the day after the murders, "Diablita" called her boyfriend, a suspected MS-13 member in jail, and allegedly told him about the killings.

"They were 18 [th street]...but they are not here anymore, they are looking at the lights," she allegedly told him over the phone. When he asked if she was forced into it by the other MS-13 members she responded "no , I did it myself."

The young woman also allegedly lied to Suffolk Police during the investigation and tried to come off as an innocent victim, according to the court documents.