New Jersey.– A Middlesex County court sentenced Dominican national Wellington Leonardo to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of causing the death of his wife, Rossana Rodríguez, in an incident that occurred in September 2024 and was witnessed by the couple’s four daughters.
The judge who heard the case imposed a 10-year sentence for manslaughter by provocation and another 10 years for endangering the welfare of a minor. In addition, the convicted person must serve 85% of the sentence before being eligible for parole.
During the judicial process, Leonardo maintained that he acted in self-defense. However, the Prosecutor’s Office rejected that version by presenting evidence indicating that the victim suffered multiple stab wounds to the back.
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Before the sentence was handed down, the defendant apologized for what happened. However, Rossana Rodríguez’s family members expressed their disagreement with the court’s decision, considering that the sentence is not proportional to the gravity of the crime.
Elizabeth Rodríguez, the victim’s cousin, stated that the ruling could send the wrong message in domestic violence cases, as she believes it allows for self-defense arguments that, as she asserted, do not correspond to the evidence presented during the trial.
