190-year sentence for N.J. man who murdered 3 parents in front of their young kids in multi-day killing spree – NJ.com

An Essex County man convicted in December of brutally murdering three people in 2016 while their children were present in a two-day killing spree was sentenced Tuesday to 190 years in prison.

Jeffrey Holland, 30, of East Orange, was sentenced for the murders of Newark residents Tiniquah Rouse, Ashley Jones, and Jarrell Marshall. Holland’s parole hearing won’t come up for 158 years, according to acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II.

“The sheer depravity and violence that occurred in this case is incomprehensible,” Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab said in a statement. “This defendant brutally killed three innocent people and in the case of Rouse desecrated her body. His crimes are even more cruel because they were carried out in the presence of very young children, including two of his own children.’’

The victims were killed over the course of two days in January 2016, investigators said.

Authorities allege Holland strangled and drowned Rouse, 21, on Jan. 29, 2016, in her bathtub before sexually assaulting her and desecrating her remains. After the murder, he put her 5-month-old baby boy in an apartment closet, covering him with clothes and left the home. The baby was later found unharmed. Prosecutors said Holland and Rouse had been involved in a relationship.

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The next day, Holland went to Jones’ apartment, where he kicked in the door and fatally shot Jones, 23, and Marshall, 28, just a short distance away from three children ages 1, 3, and 4.

Jones and Holland previously dated, but had broken up. Jones had a restraining order against him, investigators said. Jones and Holland were the parents of two of the children who were present during the murder. The third child was Marshall’s daughter from another relationship.

Jones and Marshall had recently started dating, the prosecutor said. First-responders found Jones’ two children and Marshall’s child inside the home when they arrived, authorities said at the time. They were physically unharmed.

Holland told the jury during his trial that he did not mean to kill Rouse and that she had suffered a seizure during sex. Holland denied killing the other two victims. But investigators said they uncovered surveillance video placing Holland at the crime scenes. In addition, investigators found internet searches for New Jersey’s laws regarding murder and numerous threatening text messages.

On Dec. 12, 2018, a jury found Holland guilty of 18 counts, including three counts of murder, desecration of human remains, hindering, felony murder, burglary, theft, weapons possession and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

On Tuesday, Essex County Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Holland to 60 years for each murder and another 10 years for being a convicted felon with a weapon.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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