SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — A 38-year-old man and his teenage nephews were indicted on charges relating to the abduction and fatal strangulation of another Long Island man earlier this summer, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Gustavo Hernandez and his nephews 19-year-old Walter Ramirez Jeronimo and 18-year-old Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo are all charged with two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree attempted kidnapping of an Amityville man.
Video surveillance allegedly shows the three Farmingdale men exit a Blue Isuzu Rodeo on the evening of June 21 as Juan Carlos Diaz Jeronimo, 48, walked along Broadhollow Road.
The suspects are seen allegedly attacking the victim and attempting to drag him toward the Isuzu, only to be stopped by a passing motorist.
The victim is able to escape and make for a nearby gas station, where video surveillance shows the teens covering their face and then, with their uncle, allegedly beating and choking the victim before forcing him into the trunk of the Isuzu.
“The allegations in this indictment are deeply disturbing. The brazen nature of this alleged crime, occurring in a public place during daylight hours, shocks the conscience and undermines our sense of community,” District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
Prosecutors said that Hernandez and his nephews then allegedly drove to Belmont State Park before coming back to Farmingdale, where surveillance video shows them dumping the victim’s body on a residential street.
Once his body was recovered, the medical examiner’s office determined that the 48-year-old was strangled, suffered severe blunt force trauma to the abdomen and was stabbed in the upper chest.
Despite the victim and the teen suspects sharing the same last name, “there is no known familial relationship between the victim, Juan Carlos Diaz Jeronimo,” and the Ramirez Jeronimo brothers, prosecutors told the New York Daily News.
It is unclear what the motive behind the murder was.
If convicted, the men could face 25 years to life for each of the murder and kidnapping charges, and up to 15 years for the attempted kidnapping charge.