Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Camden County Police Chief Scott Thomson announced a Camden man has been convicted for his role in the disappearance and death of a 41-year-old woman, Fatima Perez.
After a three-week trial, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before convicting Carlos Alicea-Antonetti, 39, of Camden, of first degree murder, first degree kidnapping, second degree robbery and two counts of felony murder.
The jury additionally found special circumstances with regard the first degree murder count, unanimously finding that Ms. Perez’s murder was outrageously or wantonly vile, horrible or inhuman in that it involved torture.
Police said Ms. Perez’s family reported her missing on May 12, 2014. She reportedly left her home that morning at approximately 8:30 am with $8,000 in cash to purchase a car with the assistance of Carlos Alicea-Antonetti, who was her landscaper and the owner of Villa Coamo Landscaping and General Maintenance.
Authorities found her remains later in a wooded area of Monroe Township, Gloucester County.
Investigation of the case revealed that Ms. Perez had been tied up in the back of Alicea-Antonetti’s work van for most of that day before being buried alive after dark. Alicea-Antonetti and one of his employees, Ramon Ortiz, dug a shallow grave where they placed Ms. Perez, whose hands and head were covered with duct tape. The men then covered her body with lime and buried her while she was still alive.
Officers from the Camden County Police and the Cherry Hill Police Department took Ortiz and Alicea-Antonetti into custody on May 14, 2014, at the Express Inn on Route 38 in Cherry Hill. Alicea-Antonetti had approximately $6,000 in his possession when detained. Ortiz led investigators to the location where he and Alicea-Antonetti had buried Fatima Perez.
An autopsy determined Ms. Perez’s cause of death was asphyxiation.
Sentencing for Carlos Alicea-Antonetti before the Honorable Gwendolyn Blue, J.S.C. is scheduled for February 2, 2018. He faces a mandatory life without parole sentence.
While on July 21, 2016, Ramon Ortiz, 60, was sentenced to a term of 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter. He will serve approximately 21 years in prison before he is eligible for parole.