An Elizabeth man who committed an execution-style murder of his girlfriend in 2011 has been sentenced to 50 years in state prison for the crime, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced Monday.
Officials said Abdul Shahid Aziz, 51, must serve at least 85 percent of that term before becoming eligible for parole, in accordance with New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, under the terms set down by state Superior Court Judge John M. Deitch.
According to authorities, at approximately 7 p.m. on July 11, 2011, Aziz drove 40-year-old Ramona Jackson to the end of Schiller Street in Elizabeth, stopping in a remote area by the railroad tracks owned by the Norfolk Southern railroad company, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Melissa Spagnoli, who prosecuted the case.
Once out of the car, Aziz fired a single shot at close range into Jackson’s forehead, Spagnoli said; the bullet traveled through Jackson’s left ring finger as her hand covered her face and into her forehead, killing her.
Police said Aziz then drove away from the scene in his 2002 blue Ford Explorer, which was captured on video as he fled.
According to officials, approximately 12 hours later, workers for a company installing billboards along the nearby railroad tracks found Jackson’s body and notified authorities.
A Union County Homicide Task Force investigation was subsequently initiated, and Aziz surrendered to members of the Elizabeth Police Department four days later.
During a videotaped interview that followed, Aziz confessed to the crime, but the Appellate Division of Superior Court in April 2016 granted his motion to have the confession omitted from his trial on procedural grounds.
A Union County jury in December 2017 convicted Aziz on charges of murder and two related weapons offenses following a three-week trial before Judge Deitch and jury deliberations spread over two days.
The Prosecutor’s Office would like to again thank the Elizabeth Police Department, Union County Sheriff’s Office, and Norfolk Southern Railroad Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.
Photo: Facebook