LI Man Gets 30 Years In Prison In Strangulation, Murder Of Women: DA

BAY SHORE, NY — A Bay Shore man was sentenced to 30 years in prison in the fatal strangulation of Frania Espinal in April 2021, and the strangulation of another female victim in November 2020, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

Darren Mansfield, 23, pleaded guilty March 29 before Judge Richard I. Horowitz to charges of first-degree manslaughter and second-degree strangulation, and to one count of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon in the in an unrelated incident, prosecutors said.

On Nov. 2, 2020, Mansfield was arrested for second-degree criminal possession of a weapon when Suffolk County police officers found him in possession of a loaded handgun and ammunition belonging to his mother, based upon the investigation and admissions at the guilty plea proceeding.

At his arraignment on Nov. 3, 2020, Mansfield was ordered held on $20,000 cash bail or a $40,000 bail bond. On Nov. 4, 2020, Mansfield posted $20,000 cash bail and was released.

Later that month, on Nov. 22, 2020, Mansfield went out on a date with the initial woman. While sitting in a car with her, he put her in a headlock and applied such force to her neck that he caused broken blood vessels in both her eyes and mouth, and severe swelling and bruising to her eyes, all of which are hallmark injuries caused by acts of violent strangulation, prosecutors said.

The woman survived the attack and Mansfield was arrested the following day, on Nov. 23, 2020, officials said. Despite the fact that Mansfield already had an open gun felony case, he was released without bail being set on the new case.

In April 2021, while Mansfield was out on release status for both pending cases, the family of Frania Espinal, 22, who had been dating Mansfield, reported her missing to police.

On or about April 10, 2021, video evidence showed Mansfield and Espinal entering his Heckscher Avenue apartment in Bay Shore.

Espinal was never seen alive again. Her family thereafter reported her as missing, causing law enforcement to begin an investigation into her disappearance.

Mansfield was arrested after stating to a friend that he strangled someone and had the body in his residence, officials said.

Officers found Espinal's body wrapped in a tarp in the bedroom of the residence, after searching Mansfield’s home. The Medical Examiner ruled her death a homicide by strangulation.

Espinal had multiple injuries including blunt force trauma to her head, multiple hemorrhages to her neck and a fracture of the thyroid cartilage, prosecutors said.

Indictments were not sought as to the November 2020 felony gun possession case or the initial non-fatal strangulation case until after the death of Frania Espinal, officials said.

“What is deplorable about this case is that this defendant was released without bail when he killed
Ms. Espinal, despite an arrest for strangling and nearly killing another woman who had the courage to report him to authorities after she escaped,” said District Attorney Tierney. “While I am District Attorney, we will not allow dangerous defendants to remain at liberty where they can harm the public. How dangerous does an individual have to be before they are held in on bail? This
defendant deserves every year of his prison sentence.”