ICYMI: Man Who Killed Hillsborough Woman Admitted To Being Illegal Immigrant

By Tom Davis

A 30-year-old man who pleaded guilty to the arson death of a Hillsborough woman last week is a citizen of Mexico and is in the United States illegally, authorities said.

Juan Jimenez-Olivera, who was living in Hillsborough, made the admission recently when asked by state Superior Court judge, according to nj.com. The judge told him he could be deported.

Immigration has become a front-and-center issue in the presidential campaign following the death of a woman in San Francisco, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has made the issue a cornerstone of his campaign, calling for a wall to be built along the U.S. border with Mexico.

On April 29, 2014 at approximately 8:23 a.m., Hillsborough Township police responded to a residential fire on Bloomingdale Drive. After entering, fire personnel located a deceased female, Sviatlana Dranko, age 30, on the second floor of the dwelling.

The fire was deemed suspicious as two points of origin were noted, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation revealed that Dranko was deceased prior to the setting of the fires and that said fires were intentionally set. Detectives followed-up on numerous leads which ultimately led them to co-worker Juan Jimenez–Olivera.

Jimenez–Olivera was identified as the person responsible for sexually assaulting and murdering Dranko prior to the starting of fires. The victim and defendant were not involved in a relationship.Jimenez-Olivera pleaded guilty to charges of murder; aggravated arson; disturbing and desecrating human remains; hindering apprehension of prosecution; and tampering with physical evidence.

In exchange for defendant Juan Jimenez–Olivera’s pleas of guilty, the defendant 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 and desecrating human remains.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 18.