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Authorities had collected surveillance video from the notorious Adelita nightclub that shows Logan Kelley coming up from behind 20-year-old Isis Montoya, pulling a four-inch knife from his hoodie pocket and slicing her throat in February 2021.
They charged him with what's known there as femicide, a hate crime in Mexico.
Rather than face trial, Kelly, 28, took a deal from prosecutors, pleading guilty last week to lesser charges involving the killing of Montoya.
The young victim's father wasn't happy with the outcome, saying the deal serves everyone but his slain daughter. He also reportedly claimed that, in addition to prison time, Kelly agreed to pay $40,000 in American dollars for her 4-year-old son.
A native of the Union County town of Mountainside, Kelley led all basketball players in New Jersey in scoring as a senior at Governor Livingston High School in Berkeley Heights.
He joined the Rutgers team but apparently got booted after only a few games. The reason has never been disclosed.
Eddie Jordan, a former Scarlet Knights head coach and star, was once quoted as saying that Kelley "personified what we want in a student-athlete."
Kelley was gone quicker than he arrived. He resumed playing -- although for only a year -- at the University of Montevallo in Alabama. He also recorded a rap album using the stage name Lo Key Lo.
Then he apparently was in the wind.
Workers at Adelita said Kelley didn't know Montoya and had actually come to the club that night to hurt another woman before attacking her instead, according to published reports.
Surveillance footage shows Kelley trying to flee the club after the attack, authorities said. He was nabbed by security before he could reach the door.
Authorities in Mexico issued a photo of the murder weapon, which bore the words “special forces” on the blade and had a picture of an assault rifle on the handle.
The San Diego Union was the first to report the plea and sentence.
SEE: Ex-Rutgers basketball player admits brutal killing of Tijuana prostitute
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