Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez has announced that on Thursday, March 4, Jorge A. Rios, 35, of Jersey City, was sentenced to 30 years in New Jersey state prison for the murder and sexual assault of Carolina Cano which occurred on March 24, 2019, in Lincoln Park in Jersey City.
According to county officials, Rios was sentenced to 30 years for the first-degree murder charge. Rios was also sentenced to 10 years with a required 85 percent for the charge of aggravated sexual assault. Upon release, the defendant is subject to parole supervision for life and Megan’s Law.
Officials said that Rios admitted to sexually assaulting and then strangling Cano in the early morning hours on that date in Lincoln Park and pled guilty to the charges in the case on February 3, 2020.
According to police, on March 24, 2019, shortly after 7:30 a.m., the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a possible body found in Lincoln Park in Jersey City. Responding Hudson County Sheriff’s Officers found the body of Carolina Cano, 45, of Jersey City, in the lake in Lincoln Park.
According to officials, Cano was pronounced dead at approximately 9:30 a.m. The Regional Medical Examiner’s Office determined the cause of death to be homicidal violence including strangulation and water submersion and the manner of death to be homicide.
On March 31, 2019, members of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force arrested and charged Rios for the murder of Carolina Cano.
Officials said that on June 19, 2019, a Hudson County Grand Jury returned an Indictment against Rios charging him with four counts related to the death of Carolina Cano. The Indictment charged Rios with Murder, Felony Murder, Aggravated Sexual Assault and Kidnapping.