ICYMI: Hillsborough Man Pleads Guilty To Arson, Murder Of Township Woman

The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office announced the guilty plea of Juan Jimenez - Olivera, 30, of Hillsborough today for charges stemming from the arson and murder of 30-year-old Hillsborough resident Sviatlana Dranko.

Jimenez - Olivera plead guilty to the following charges:

• Murder, 1st Degree
• Aggravated Arson, 2nd Degree
• Disturbing, Desecrating Human Remains, 2nd Degree
• Hindering Apprehension of Prosecution, 3rd Degree
• Tampering with Physical Evidence, 4th Degree

In exchange for Jimenez – Olivera’s guilty pleas, he will be sentenced to a mandatory term of 30 years incarceration without parole with a consecutive term of 5 years incarceration on his guilty plea to Disturbing, Desecrating Human Remains, 2nd Degree. The State will move to dismiss the charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault, 1st Degree after the imposition of sentence, according to the prosecutor’s office.

Jimenez - Olivera remains in Somerset County Jail and his $1,000,000.00 cash bail was revoked after pleading guilty.

His sentencing is scheduled for September 18, 2015.

The morning of April 29, 2014 -

It was just around 8:30 a.m. when Hillsborough Township first responders reported to a residential fire on Bloomingdale Drive.

Shortly after entering the residence, fire personal found Dranko, deceased, on the second floor of her home. The fire was deemed suspicious as first responders noticed two points of origin.

After an investigation was conducted by local and county authorities it was determined that Dranko had died prior to the fire, which was intentionally set.

Detectives followed numerous leads which led them to believe Dranko’s co-worker, Jimenez – Olivera, was responsible for sexually assaulting and murdering the deceased before the fires were started.

Jimenez – Olivera were not involved in a relationship.