Long Branch Man Gets Life For Brutal 2015 Murder Of City Woman

FREEHOLD – A 23-year-old Long Branch man who beat, then strangled a city woman who died with his arms still around her neck will be close to 87 by the time he is eligible for parole, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Joseph W. Oxley sentenced Christopher “Chato” Aparicio-Reyes, to life in prison after he was convicted earlier this year in the death of Jennifer Pizzuto, 40, also of Long Branch.

Aparicio-Reyes' sentence was subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act” (NERA), which requires him to serve 85 percent of his sentence, or 63 years and 9 months, before becoming eligible for release on parole, Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni said.

He was convicted by a Monmouth County grand jury in February. He will also be under parole supervision for five years following his release.

Authorities say Aparicio-Reyes violently beat Pizzuto on her head and face in his room at 140 Rockwell Avenue in Long Branch in December 2015, before he decided to kill her.

Pizzuto was found with numerous lacerations on her face and head, including her lips and tongue, after three of her teeth were knocked out. A forensics expert determined that Aparicio-Reyes struck her repeatedly, while Pizzuto was standing and after she had fallen to the floor, Gramiccioni said.

An autopsy revealed Aparicio-Reyes killed Pizzuto by squeezing her neck until she lost consciousness. She died with his arms still wrapped around her neck, the prosecutor said.

Aparicio-Reyes admitted at his February trial that he killed Pizzuto. He claimed that Pizzuto had stolen from him and that he has been drinking and using cocaine on the night of the murder. After he tried to hide her body in another room, he left his house and hid at a friend’s apartment until officers from the Long Branch Police Department and Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office found him the next morning, Gramiccioni said.

The jury convicted Aparicio-Reyes during the first day of deliberations.

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