Man Admits Killing Woman With Hammer At Work: Bergen County Prosecutor

NORTHVALE, NJ — A man accused of killing a female co-worker at their Northvale job site four years ago has pleaded guilty, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Christian V. Giron, 28, of Harrington Park entered the plea in Superior Court on Dec. 12 as part of a plea bargain, said the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office.

Prosecutors said that on Oct. 27, 2021, around 8:15 a.m., police responded to a report of a person severely injured at a business on Ludlow Avenue in Northvale.

They found Jeanette A. Willem, 43, dead, having suffered a head wound.

Police and prosecutors determined that Giron, a co-worker, had intentionally hit her with a hammer inside the workplace. He was arrested hours after the crime, prosecutors said.

A bicycle industry news outlet said that the pair worked at the headquarters for Jamis, a bicycle company.

Willem's obituary said she had worked for Jamis for 20 years and lived with her husband and daughter in Fair Lawn. Reports at the time said that Giron had stolen credit cards from her.

On Dec. 12, Giron pleaded guilty to first-degree homicide in Bergen County Superior Court before Judge Christopher R. Kazlau, prosecutors said.

The admission was part of a plea bargain in which the prosecutor's office will seek a sentence of 50 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the provisions of New Jersey's No Early Release Act, prosecutors say. The act requires a defendant to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before they can be eligible for parole.

Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6.