Three Long Island family members, two teenage brothers and their uncle, have been indicted in a “deeply disturbing” abduction in broad daylight, after which they left the victim strangled to death on a suburban lawn.
Gustavo Hernandez, 38; Walter Ramirez Jeronimo, 19; and Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo, 18 — all from Farmingdale — have each been charged with two counts of murder in the second degree, one count of kidnapping and one count of attempted kidnapping in connection to the death of 48-year-old Juan Carlos Diaz Jeronimo of Amityville, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said Friday.
According to DA Raymond Tierney, the brothers and their uncle were driving in a blue Isuzu in Farmingdale on the afternoon of June 21 when they spotted Diaz Jeronimo walking along Broadhollow Road.
“Video surveillance shows the defendants allegedly exiting the vehicle, attacking the victim, and attempting to drag him toward the Isuzu,” prosecutors said. “Their efforts were thwarted by a passing motorist, allowing the victim to escape to a gas station across the street.”
The teens and their uncle then followed the victim to the gas station, where video shows them beating Diaz Jeronimo to the ground, choking him and forcing their target into the back of the Isuzu in broad daylight.
Suffolk County DA
A surveillance image shows the defendants allegedly beating and choking the victim. (Suffolk County DA)
The suspects allegedly drove around with the victim in their trunk, then later dumped his body in a grassy spot alongside on a residential street.
Diaz Jeronimo was found the next morning around 1:30 a.m. by a local resident, reported News12 Long Island.
It was later determined the victim suffered numerous injuries including fatal asphyxia “due to neck compression, severe blunt force trauma of the abdomen and what appeared to be a stab wound to his upper chest,” the DA’s office said.
Despite sharing the same last name, “there is no known familial relationship between the victim, Juan Carlos Diaz Jeronimo,” and the Ramirez Jeronimo brothers, according to prosecutors.
Earlier reports indicated the suspects and their victim may have spelled their surnames differently, but the DA confirmed the spelling is correct in their announcement of the indictments.
It’s unclear why the two parties involved were at odds.
Hernandez and the brothers were arraigned on Thursday and were remanded without bail. They’re due back in court on Sept. 10.
If convicted, the men could face up to 25 years to life in prison for each of the murder and kidnapping charges, while the attempted kidnapping charge carries a sentence of up to 15 years.
