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On March 30, 2023, Francisco Martinez, 53, pleaded guilty in connection with the domestic stabbing of his former girlfriend Patricia Boney, which occurred back on February 25, 1994.
His plea to Aggravated Manslaughter calls for him to serve a 20-year sentence.
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After the slaying of Ms. Boney, Martinez fled in her 1982 Camaro which was discovered in Houston, Texas on March 8, 1994.
It is believed that he crossed the border into Mexico where he successfully hid under an assumed identity for over 25 years.
On February 25, 1994, Martinez went to 111 N. Harding Highway in Buena Borough to confront Boney, who had moved on from him and had no desire to reunite.
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Martinez stabbed her over seventeen times in front of their one-and-a-half-year-old child while Boney lay in her bed, and quickly fled the scene using Boney’s vehicle.
Boney’s nine and eleven-year-old children found her lying in bed with their baby brother covered in blood and called 911.
Responding officers were able to speak to Boney who identified Martinez as her killer before she died.
An autopsy that was performed later that day noted multiple defensive wounds on her arms and hands as well as a four-and-a-half-inch wound that penetrated her heart.
Martinez remained one of New Jersey’s most wanted fugitives for years and was once featured on “America’s Most Wanted.”
Detectives from the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and Atlantic County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with the authorities in Mexico, located Martinez living and working in the Sinaloa region.
Utilizing all diplomatic channels available, the United States Marshal’s Office, Interpol, and the U.S. Department of State located and extradited Martinez back from Mexico to New Jersey last year to answer for the charges.
Martinez remains in jail and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19, 2023.
*Post has been updated.