NJ mom of 4 strangled to death as kids hid – Husband’s chilling 911 confession

🔻NJ man called 911, admitted to killing
🔻Wife allegedly killed by spouse, with kids home
🔻Marriage was breaking up, cops say

SOUTH TOMS RIVER — Four children hid in a bedroom as their father killed their mother, officials said.

Gustavo Juarez-Perez, 38, has been charged with the murder of Cheyanne Juarez, 30, both of South Toms River.

Juarez-Perez is the person who called 911 on March 8, telling dispatchers “I killed my wife.”

When asked what they had fought about, he told dispatchers the victim had admitted to cheating on him and he lost control.

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Arriving at the Hummel Drive residence after 9 p.m., officers found the victim unresponsive with a belt still around her neck and Juarez-Perez wearing blood-stained clothes.

Four children, ranging in age from 3 to 14, were found unharmed.

The teen told police that her father and stepmother had gone to talk in another room, where it quickly turned into a loud fight. She brought the younger siblings to her room, where they remained until police arrived, according to an affidavit of probable cause.

Earlier that day, the four children had gone with the victim to a Five Below store and Applebee’s restaurant, before their father arrived home.

She also said the couple had argued in the past, but “never this bad.”

Read More: NJ courts kept letting him go until mom of 4 was killed

The oldest child’s biological mother then arrived at the scene; she told police that the victim and Juarez-Perez had been together for 11 years.

She said there were no issues with co-parenting the teenager, who spent weekends with her dad and family.

All of the children were released to the woman’s custody that night.

Read More: NJ man, 38, charged with murder of his wife

Police also spoke to a housemate, a woman who had lived in a basement apartment with her own two children for the past four months.

She told police that the victim said on March 3 that she had “broken up” with her husband.

A GoFundMe campaign has been collecting donations “in memory of Cheyanne Juarez” for her surviving children.

Read More: Police say NJ man shot and killed relative, 41, in front of child

The organizer, Rosaura Roustand, said that the victim worked at a hospital and would be remembered as “one of the kindest, most caring, hardworking, and funniest women we had the privilege of knowing and loving.”

“Above all, she worked tirelessly to provide for her children and give them the best life possible,” the campaign also said of Juarez.

In addition to murder, Juarez-Perez has been charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

He will remain held in Ocean County jail, pending trial, Asbury Park Press reported.

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