New Jersey Man Sentenced In Death Of Co-Worker Found Strangled Inside Burning Home
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A New Jersey man who pleaded guilty to killing a co-worker and setting her body on fire was sentenced on Wednesday.
Juan Jimenez-Oliver, of Hillsborough, will serve 35 years in prison for first-degree murder in the 2014 death of 30-year-old Syiatlana Dranko.
According to authorities, Jimenez-Oliver strangled Dranko in April 2014, then set fire to her body and home to cover up the crime.
The two had worked together at a pizzeria, but authorities said they were not involved in a relationship.
The Somerset County Superior Court judge called the murder "heinous, cruel and depraved'' and said she wished she could have given Jimenez-Oliver the same life sentence he gave Dranko's family.
Police said Jimenez-Oliver denied involvement in the crime before turning himself in.
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