New York City

NYC Man Sentenced for Fatally Strangling Mother-in-Law as His Children Witness Murder

Angel Montanez, 42, was given his sentence Wednesday after he was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection to the case on May 25

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What to Know

  • A Bronx man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally strangling his mother-in-law in front of two of his children in 2019, according to the district attorney.
  • Angel Montanez, 42, was given his sentence Wednesday after he was found guilty of second-degree murder May 25.
  • The guilty verdict and subsequent sentence is in connection to events that unfolded in 2019. According to the investigation, at around 3 a.m. on July 3, 2019, Montanez was in the apartment of Lidia Herrera, 65, when he ended up strangling her as two of his children witnessed.

A Bronx man has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for fatally strangling his mother-in-law in front of two of his children in 2019, the district attorney announced Wednesday.

Angel Montanez, 42, was given his sentence Wednesday after he was found guilty of second-degree murder in connection to the case on May 25.

The guilty verdict and subsequent sentence is in connection to events that unfolded in 2019. According to the investigation, at around 3 a.m. on July 3, 2019, Montanez was in the apartment of Lidia Herrera, 65, on Sheridan Avenue, where his then 4-year-old daughter, 6-year-old son and 10-year-old son were and began arguing with Herrera. According to the Bronx District Attorney's Office, citing the investigation, Montanez punched Herrera in the head, then strangled her with an HDMI cord.

The argument between Montanez and Herrera woke two of the children and they went to check on their grandmother. It was at this moment that they witnessed the murder, according to the district attorney.

Herrera was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was determined that Herrera suffered a fractured hyoid bone and thyroid cartilage, according to the district attorney's office, which also added that Herrera sustained injuries and bruising on her face and body.

“The defendant killed the grandmother of his children while his three children were in her home. Two of them witnessed the murder and are living with that trauma. A jury found him guilty of second-degree Murder and he will spend many years in prison for destroying so many lives in a single heinous act," Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement.

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