NEWARK, NJ (1010 WINS) — A New Jersey man was sentenced Friday to 375 years in prison for the 2016 murder of three people, including two children, over a Facebook post, the Essex County prosecutor’s office announced.
Jeremy Arrington, 31, forced his way inside of a Newark home on Nov. 5, 2016, armed with a gun and tied up the six people inside, outraged over a Facebook interaction.
Arrington was angry at one of the stabbing victims for reposting a police alert on Facebook that identified him as a suspect in an earlier shooting and sexual assault, The New York Post reported.
According to court documents, Arrington then tortured and stabbed the victims, who ranged in age from 7 to 29, killing 7-year-old Ariel Little Whitehurts and her 11-year-old brother Al-Jahon.
Arrington also shot and killed 23-year-old college student Syasia McBurroughs who was visiting the family at the time.
The two children were taken to a nearby hospital where they were pronounced dead while McBurroughs was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 29-year-old, who was the mother of the murdered children, survived as well as her two 13-year-old twin siblings.
Officials said a young girl with autism was also in the house at the time of the attack but hid in a closet where she was able to call for help from her cell phone.
Arrington fled the scene before police arrived but was apprehended the next day, barricaded inside of a home saying he had a hostage which was later found to be false.
“While nothing can bring back the lives of Ariel, Al-Jahon, and Syasia, we hope today’s sentence will provide some sense of closure to their families," said Assistant Prosecutor Chelsea Coleman.
Arrington was convicted on March 4 on 28 counts including three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, burglary and criminal restraint.
In addition to the three consecutive life sentences, the judge imposed consecutive 50-year sentences for the attempted murders of the surviving victims.
“Justice has been served. This defendant is pure evil and clearly deserves all 375 years in New Jersey State Prison for the terrible crimes he committed on Nov. 5, 2016," said Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab. "These families have waited over 5 years for this moment, and we are all so grateful for this sentence. Thank you to all those who helped bring this defendant to justice and thank you to the jury for holding this defendant accountable.”
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