FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Raymond Worrall

PHONE:  (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737

EMAIL:  rworrall@hcpo.org

DATE:  Tuesday, June 18, 2019

JERSEY CITY WOMAN DIES IN HOSPITAL FOLLOWING DOMESTIC INCIDENT; DEATH RULED HOMICIDE

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez released the following information:

On April 21, 2019, at approximately 11:45 a.m., Jersey City Police Officers were dispatched to Jersey City Medical Center on a report of a patient that had been involved in a domestic incident. Upon arrival to the hospital, police officers found Sonia Drouet, age 57, of Jersey City in an unconscious state due to injuries sustained during a physical altercation on April 20, 2019.

The morning after the incident, Drouet was transported by Emergency Medical Services to JCMC where she was treated for her injuries and remained in a coma until her death. She was pronounced dead at approximately 7:30 a.m. on May 8, 2019.

On April 21, 2019, following the initial investigation, JCPD arrested Drouet’s boyfriend, Guillermo Flores, age 67, of Jersey City. He was originally charged with assault.

Upon the death of the victim, the case was turned over to the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit which continued to actively investigating the case with assistance from the Jersey City Police Department.

The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be complications from blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death to be homicide.

On June 14, 2019, an additional charge was filed against Flores by the Homicide Unit. He has been charged with Reckless Manslaughter in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4b(1), a second-degree crime.

On June 18, 2019, shortly after 1:00 a.m., Flores turned himself into members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. He was arrested, processed and then transported to the Hudson County Correctional Facility.

Prosecutor Suarez credited the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit with the investigation and arrest with the assistance of the Jersey City Police Department.

The above charges are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. R.P.C.3.6(b)(6).