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Faustino Cruz-Marquez, age 26, of Manorville, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, May 3, in the death of Maria Carmelina Velasquez-Zhau.
The 37-year-old victim disappeared on July 28, 2020 at the Cosmos Farm in Manorville, where she both worked and lived.
Cruz-Marquez also worked and lived at the farm, according to the Suffolk County DA’s Office.
The farm owner realized the woman was missing on the following day, July 29, and led several search efforts to locate her. The owner also notified her family in Queens and New Jersey.
Velasquez-Zhau’s lifeless body was finally located on July 30 in a wooded area on the outskirts of the farm.
An autopsy determined that she had died from “homicidal violence” and had been strangled, according to prosecutors.
Another farm worker, Javier Santos-Moreno, told investigators that on the day of her disappearance he had witnessed Velasquez-Zhau and Cruz-Marquez physically fighting in the workers’ kitchen.
The victim had accused Cruz-Marquez of damaging produce, leaving it unable to be sold, the witness told police.
That same witness also told investigators that Cruz-Marquez had later called him and confessed to choking Velasquez-Zhau to death, and threatened to harm him if he told anyone about their fight.
According to prosecutors, DNA evidence linking Cruz-Marquez to the killing was found on the victim’s fingernails. Detectives also found photos of his injuries on his cell phone.
His guilty plea came on the third day of his jury trial.
“A simple workplace dispute should not have led to the killing of Maria Carmelina Velasquez-Zhau,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“We are satisfied that justice has been served now that the defendant has taken accountability for his crimes, and that he will no longer put the victim’s family through any more pain throughout a trial.”
Cruz-Marquez is expected to get 13 years in prison, along with five years of post-release supervision, when he’s sentenced on Monday, June 5.
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