A 38-year-old Newark man today admitted fatally shooting his wife in front of her 3-year-old daughter inside their home.
Shazam Meighoo pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and related charges in the June 20, 2012 killing Sanithia Jones-Meighoo, 21.
Meighoo also pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Under a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a 18 year sentence which he would have to serve just over 15 years before becoming eligible for parole.
Meighoo, who is not a U.S. citizen is expected to be deported after he has completed his sentence.
His sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 11 before Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler.
On June 20, 2012, Meighoo initially reported that when he came to their Stone Street home in Newark, he found his wife had been shot.
However, Meighoo now admitted that after the couple got into an argument he shot Jones-Meighoo in front of her three year old daughter, ( Jones-Meighoo's child from a prior relationship).
The day after the shooting, Meighoo fled to Trinidad but was taken into custody and extradited to the United States by U.S. Marshals in December 2014.