Glen Cove Man Pleads Guilty to Stabbing Ex-Girlfriend to Death in a Parking Lot

A Glen Cove man pleaded guilty on Thursday to stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in a parking lot in March 2015.

Jose Cartagena, 56, pleaded guilty to second degree murder before Supreme Court Justice Angelo Delligatti on Thursday. Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas is recommending that Cartagena be sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He is due back in court for sentencing on Dec. 12.

“Following their break-up, Jose Cartagena fatally stabbed a young mother as she went to pick up her daughter,” Singas said. “This cowardly murderer then fled to California, and thanks to the U.S. Marshals, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Nassau County Police Department, he has finally faced justice here in Nassau County. I hope this conviction brings some sense of solace to the family of Yanira Estella Canjura Martinez.

On March 26, 2015, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Cartagena stabbed his ex-girlfriend Yanira Estella Canjura Martinez, 32, multiple times in a Glen Cove parking lot on Glen Street. Martinez, who had separated from Cartagena a week earlier, was on her way to pick up her 5-year-old daughter. She was pronounced dead at 4:02 p.m. at a local hospital.

Cartagena, who fled the state, was apprehended in Delano, Calif., on April 6, 2015, with the assistance of U.S. Marshals, ICE and NCPD.

Photo: Nassau County District Attorney's Office