Bronx man sentenced to life in prison for stabbing, burning 18-year-old man to death
NEW YORK -- A Bronx man is now facing life behind bars for stabbing an 18-year-old who had dated his younger sister, then lighting the man on fire.
At Thursday's sentencing, the victim's family spoke about the pain they've been coping with since 2020.
"My son had only love for others," mother Joan Tamarez said.
For four years, Tamarez has painfully waited for this moment. The horror of her son's gruesome murder lives with her every day.
Eighteen-year-old Winston Ortiz was stabbed four times, doused in gasoline and burned alive in his apartment building in Highbridge by Adones Betances, who was 22 at the time.
"Winston did not die immediately, despite having his skin burned off. He was still alive when officers arrived. He provided them with critical information, including that it was Adones Betances who had done this to him," Judge Jeanette Rodriguez-Morick said.
Betances, now 26, refused to stand in court Thursday. His attorney claimed his exposure to lead paint growing up put him on this path.
"His ability to make decisions, to make choices and to... have compassion for other humans has been implicated by his exposure to lead," his attorney said.
Ortiz met Betances' sister at church and began dating her. His family says he was distraught after they broke up. Soon after, the district attorney's office says the heinous crime unfolded.
"In all my years doing this work, I have never seen such a horrific conduct by any defendant in this county," District Attorney Darcel Clark said.
Betances was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
After sitting through a three-week trial, Ortiz's family remembers him as a loving big brother who was involved in his church community. His mother shared part of an assignment he wrote before he died.
"'Love your enemies because they can become your friends,'" she read.
Ortiz's family says they can finally rest knowing Betances won't hurt anybody else.
