MANHATTAN RESIDENT SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS TO LIFE FOR MURDERING RICHMOND HILL WOMAN

Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown announced today that a Manhattan resident was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for the brutal murder of his girlfriend in her Richmond Hill home in July, 1996.

District Attorney Brown identified the defendant as Hilberto Ramos, 21, of 139 West 14th Street, Manhattan. He was found guilty after a three week jury trial before Supreme Court Justice Randall Eng who imposed the sentence today.

District Attorney Brown said, "This sentence is well deserved. The defendant not only strangled the victim but cut her throat and then shot her five times, ultimately placing her body face down in a tub of water all because she had questioned him about his relationship with another woman."

According to District Attorney Brown, Hilberto Ramos was engaged to another woman and also seeing the victim. On the evening of July 18, 1996, the defendant arrived at the apartment of the victim. During the course of conversation, he called the victim by the other woman's name. The two argued and the victim asked the defendant to leave. This enraged the defendant and he took out a bandana he was carrying and proceeded to strangle her. He then took a box cutter, slit her neck and shot her five times. The defendant next took the victim's body and placed it face down in a tub of water. He then took her wallet, ID, jewelry and fled.

Police were called to the scene by the victim's mother who returned home after work at about 7:30 a.m. and discovered her daughter's body in the bath tub. During the course of the investigation the police found the victim's diary which contained the name of the defendant. Further investigation resulted in the identification on the shore of the Hudson River not far from the defendant's residence.

Assistant District Attorney Jack Warsawsky, Deputy Bureau Chief of the District Attorney's Homicide Trials Bureau which is under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Daniel A. Saunders, prosecuted the case.