FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Raymond Worrall
PHONE: (201) 795-6400 Ext. 6737
EMAIL: rworrall@hcpo.org
DATE: Thursday, June 6, 2019
JUDGE FINDS JERSEY CITY MAN GUILTY FOR 2017 MURDER OF HIS WIFE
On Thursday, June 6, 2019, Jose Morel, age 61, of Jersey City, was found guilty of murdering his wife, 38-year-old Milagros Rodriguez de Morel in Jersey City on October 18, 2017. The Honorable Mitzy Galis-Menendez, P.J.S.C. presided over the bench trial in which she also found the defendant guilty of three additional charges related to the incident.
Morel was found guilty of Murder, a first-degree crime; Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose, a third-degree crime; Unlawful Possession of a Weapon, a fourth-degree crime; and Endangering the Welfare of a Child, a second-degree crime.
At trial, the evidence established that the defendant murdered his wife in their Jersey City home and that the victim’s son was present in the residence. The victim suffered from multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. The defendant was acquitted on two aggravated assault charges related to his son.
Judge Galis-Menendez is scheduled to sentence the defendant on August 16, 2019. Morel faces 30 years to life in state prison for the murder conviction subject to the No Early Release Act. The defendant has been detained pending sentencing.
The state was represented by Assistant Prosecutor Leonardo Rinaldi from the Homicide Unit of the Office of the Hudson County Prosecutor.
The Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Jersey City Police Department investigated the case.