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A New Jersey mom convicted of burning her two young children to death could soon walk free thanks to now-former Gov. Phil Murphy, who sparked outrage by commuting her sentence as he left office this week.
Maria Montalvo was serving a 100-year prison term after she was found guilty of murdering her 18-month-old daughter and 28-month-old son in 1996 – but under Murphy’s direction the 61-year-old Union Beach woman will have a chance at parole, according to reports.
Montalvo will continue to seek a new trial to get her conviction overturned even though she has a pathway to release, her lawyer, Josh Hood, told NJ.com.
Without Murphy’s intervention, she would not have been eligible for parole until 2054 when she was 90 years old, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Now, she’ll be able to argue her case to the state parole board potentially within months.
The controversial move was quickly panned by prosecutors in Monmouth County, where she stood trial, and even Garden State Democrats, who conveyed “outrage and disgust” with Murphy’s decision.
“It is unfathomable how he could reach this conclusion,” state Sen. Vin Gopal, and Assemblywomen Margie Donlan and Luanne Peterpaul, all of Monmouth, said in a joint statement, according to the Asbury Park Press.
Monmouth’s top prosecutor Raymond Santiago slammed the commutation as the “polar opposite of justice.”
“I cannot express strongly enough our office’s collective revulsion and disbelief upon hearing this news,” Santiago said, according Patch.com.
“Viewing it through different lenses or from different perspectives does not mitigate our outrage; it magnifies it.”
Montalvo had baby Zoraida-Angelin Aponte and her older brother Rafael-Louis Aponte in her Volkswagen Jetta when she swung by a gas station to fill up $3 of gas in a plastic container in February 1994, said Santiago.
She then reached her in-laws’ home in Long Branch, where she “doused her children with the gasoline, and ignited it, killing them both,” he added.
The gruesome arson case was spurred by Montalvo’s husband telling her he wanted to end their relationship just days before, prosecutors reportedly argued at the time.
Santiago’s defense insisted the fire was an accident after the mother tried to light a cigarette in the car, which inadvertently lit up vapors that leaked from the gas can, according to the Asbury Park Press.
The parent also suffered severe burns across part of her face and body during the inferno.
Hood said in a statement to NJ.com that his client deserved a chance at freedom.
“Maria Montalvo’s commutation followed a thorough and careful review process that considered the full context of her case, including her 30 years of incarceration and her sustained rehabilitative and educational efforts while in prison,” he said.
“The Governor’s decision reflected a comprehensive assessment of the nature of the offense, input from the State and the victims, and Ms. Montalvo’s institutional record and work supporting others during her incarceration.”
The controversial move was among 148 people who Murphy doled out clemency to in the final hours of his administration on Tuesday.
The Democrat, who was replaced by former House Rep. Mikie Sherrill, did not directly address the mercy toward Montalvo in a statement on the broader action.
“By offering second chances to individuals who have demonstrated rehabilitation and a commitment to their communities, we have strengthened not only individual lives, but our entire state,” he said, according to Asbury Park Press.
“Granting clemency has been one of the greatest honors of my time as governor and a powerful reminder that compassion, paired with accountability, helps build a stronger and more just state for all.”
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