By: Richard L. Smith
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II announced that Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Gualberto Lebron to Life Imprisonment without the possibility of parole, plus 32 years for assaulting, sexually assaulting, stalking, and murdering Julia Vega, his ex-girlfriend and mother of his children.
Lebron disintegrated her remains by placing them in sealed garbage bags filled with chemicals.
Officials said Lebron, 37, of Newark, was also sentenced for three counts of Endangering the Welfare of the three children he and Vega had in common.
The life without parole sentence was imposed on a conviction for Aggravated Murder because the murder was committed during a home invasion burglary and because Vega was a witness against Lebron for charges related to an earlier domestic violence attack.
Vega was 30 when she was killed in 2018.
Judge Wigler also sentenced Gualberto’s brother, Gilberto Lebron, 38, of Newark, to eight years in New Jersey State Prison with four years of parole ineligibility for Desecrating Human Remains and Hindering Prosecution for helping to destroy Vega’s remains and covering up the crime.
The crimes occurred in the spring of 2018.
A history of domestic violence led to May 5, 2018, strangulation, aggravated assault and sexual assault by Gualberto Lebron against Vega in her Newark apartment while the children were there.
Vega escaped and was chased outside by Lebron, where he continued attempting to assault her until neighbors intervened. He fled before the police arrived and was a fugitive for several days.
After May 5, Gualberto Lebron increased his stalking and threats against Vega, threatening to kill her if she didn’t drop the charges against him.
Friends and police encouraged Vega to move into a domestic violence shelter, but she declined, having recently gotten an apartment with her children.
On May 9, 2018, while her children were in school, Vega went home for lunch from her job at a local daycare center to walk her dogs. Gualberto Lebron stalked her, broke into her apartment, and murdered her.
He cleaned the apartment, carried her body out in a rolled-up rug and loaded it into Vega’s minivan. Vega was reported missing that evening, and a missing person’s investigation began.
During the next several days, Gualberto Lebron kept her body concealed as he scouted locations to hide her body.
He enlisted the help of his brother to destroy her remains, and they eventually stored her body inside heavy-duty trash bags filled with chemicals and sealed with duct tape.
The bags containing her remains were found on June 1, 2018, behind an abandoned house in Irvington.
When her remains were found, the stem of a rose was recovered tucked under her arm inside the trash bag, and a rubber bracelet from the Essex County Domestic Violence Response Team was still on her arm.
After a four-week trial, on February 13, 2023, a jury convicted Gualberto Lebron on 21 of 24 counts, including Aggravated Murder, Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Witness Tampering, Desecrating Human Remains, Conspiracy, and three counts of Endangering the Welfare of Children.
Assistant Prosecutor Adam B. Wells, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Monica Calderon, applauded Ms. Vega’s three children, who spoke at the sentencing, for their courageous and thoughtful remarks.
“The court’s sentence is appropriate for the unspeakably depraved crimes committed,” said Wells.
“I hope that the jury’s verdict and the court’s sentence can provide justice and allow Ms. Vega’s family and friends to continue healing.”
After May 5, Gualberto Lebron increased his stalking and threats against Vega, threatening to kill her if she didn’t drop the charges against him.
Friends and police encouraged Vega to move into a domestic violence shelter, but she declined, having recently gotten an apartment with her children.
On May 9, 2018, while her children were in school, Vega went home for lunch from her job at a local daycare center to walk her dogs. Gualberto Lebron stalked her, broke into her apartment, and murdered her.
He cleaned the apartment, carried her body out in a rolled-up rug and loaded it into Vega’s minivan. Vega was reported missing that evening, and a missing person’s investigation began.
During the next several days, Gualberto Lebron kept her body concealed as he scouted locations to hide her body. He enlisted the help of his brother to destroy her remains, and they eventually stored her body inside heavy-duty trash bags filled with chemicals and sealed with duct tape.
The bags containing her remains were found on June 1, 2018, behind an abandoned house in Irvington. When her remains were found, the stem of a rose was recovered tucked under her arm inside the trash bag, and a rubber bracelet from the Essex County Domestic Violence Response Team was still on her arm.
After a four-week trial, on February 13, 2023, a jury convicted Gualberto Lebron on 21 of 24 counts, including Aggravated Murder, Burglary, Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Witness Tampering, Desecrating Human Remains, Conspiracy, and three counts of Endangering the Welfare of Children.
Assistant Prosecutor Adam B. Wells, who tried the case with Assistant Prosecutor Monica Calderon, applauded Ms. Vega’s three children, who spoke at the sentencing, for their courageous and thoughtful remarks.
“The court’s sentence is appropriate for the unspeakably depraved crimes committed,” said Wells. “I hope that the jury’s verdict and the court’s sentence can provide justice and allow Ms. Vega’s family and friends to continue healing.”