23°
Distraught over their recent breakup, Bryan Cordero-Castro allegedly called and texted the 16-year-old's phone more than 200 times in the hours leading up to her fatal stabbing, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
After killing Madison Wells on Sept. 8, 2018, Cordero-Castro unsuccessfully tried to escape from police, Gramiccioni said.
Cordero-Castro, of 4th Avenue in Long Branch, was sentenced on Friday by Superior Court Judge Marc C. Lemieux to 30 years in prison for first-degree aggravated manslaughter, and five years in prison on an escape charge, the prosecutor said.
The prison sentences will run consecutively, he said, but subject to the provisions of the “No Early Release Act,” Cordero-Castro must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
A joint investigation found that Cordero-Castro and Madison Wells began dating in November 2017. Madison had recently ended the relationship. In the nine-hour period leading up to the murder, Cordero-Castro texted and called Wells at least 230 times, Gramiccioni said.
Cordero-Castro went to her Van Pelt Place home twice looking for her. On the second visit, Wells agreed to speak to him, according to Gramiccioni.
A few minutes after going outside, the teenager stumbled back into the house and collapsed on the floor from stab wounds to her chest, the prosecutor said. Wells was pronounced dead less than an hour later at Monmouth Medical Center.
Cordero-Castro was arrested at his cousin’s residence about two hours after the murder, according to Gramiccioni.
At the Long Branch Police Department, Cordero-Castro jumped up and tried to escape the booking room, he said.
The case was handled by Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Tara Wilson and Stephanie Dugan.
Cordero-Castro's defense attorney is Adam Mitchell of Freehold.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Lakewood and receive free news updates.
