Estranged Husband Indicted in Death of Wife

An Eatontown man arrested in connection with the 2011 death of his estranged wife was indicted for first-degree murder by a Monmouth County Grand Jury Wednesday, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced.

According to police, Oscar Prior-Ramirez, 32, murdered his estranged wife and Red Bank resident, Viridiana Beltran-Gomez, 26, sometime after abducting her on May 12. Authorities said Prior-Ramirez buried her body about 100 feet from mile marker 119 in Aberdeen off of the Garden State Parkway where it remained, undiscovered, for more than a month.

A preliminary autopsy of Beltran-Gomez's body revealed that she died of homicidal asphyxiation, either by strangulation or smothering, the prosecutor's office said.

Beltran-Gomez was last seen leaving work at Siena Grille, where she had been employed for three days, with Prior-Ramirez on the night of May 12. She was reported missing by her family the following day. Beltran-Gomez and Prior-Ramirez were married for three years and have two young children, boys ages 4 and 7 at the time of the arrest.

The prosecutor's office said that evidence obtained during the investigation indicated that Prior-Ramirez was responsible for Beltran-Gomez's death. Prior-Ramirez was arrested on June 25, shortly after his wife's remains were discovered by police

Though he was arrested and first charged in June, the delay in Prior-Ramirez's indictment was likely the result of injury he sustained while allegedly eluding police.

During a pursuit with local law enforcement, Prior-Ramirez sustained a significant and unspecified injury, though not through physical contact with police. Prior-Ramirez was reported paralyzed at the time, unable to move his extremities, authorities said.

Prior-Ramirez's current physical condition is currently unknown.

If convicted of first degree murder, Prior-Ramirez faces a minimum sentence of 30 years in New Jersey State Prison, with a 30-year period of parole ineligibility and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the prosecutor's office said.

The murder charge is subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act,” which requires that a defendant serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before becoming eligible for parole.

Prosecutor Peter Warshaw thanked several law enforcement authorities for their assistance in this matter, including the Red Bank Police Department, the Eatontown Police Department, the Aberdeen Police Department, the New Jersey State Police and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Department.