Essex County Man Faces Life In Jail After Murdering Ex-Lovers – West Orange, NJ Patch
ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An Essex County jury has convicted East Orange resident Jeffrey Holland, 30, of murdering Tiniquah Rouse, 21, Ashley Jones, 23, and Jarrell Marshall, 28, nearly three years after the slayings took place, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The jury deliberated for a day before convicting Holland on all 17 criminal counts he faced, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
At trial, Holland admitted killing Rouse but claimed it was an accident. He denied having anything to do with the murders of Jones and Marshall, prosecutors stated.
“After almost three years of waiting, the Rouse, Jones and Marshall families finally have justice for the horrific murders of Tiniquah, Ashley and Jarrell,” said Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case. “This result could not have been accomplished without the tireless efforts of the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force and the witnesses who came forward.”
According to prosecutors:
“On Jan. 29, 2016, Holland went to 29 Stratford Place, Newark, the residence of Rouse, with whom he had a romantic relationship, and strangled and drowned her. Holland subsequently put Rouse’s five-month old baby boy in a closet in the apartment before leaving the apartment. Law enforcement later found Rouse in her apartment bathroom deceased and mutilated. The baby boy was found unharmed.”
Prosecutors said:
“The next day, Holland went to 336 Clinton Place, Jones’ apartment. Holland kicked in the apartment door and shot Jones and Marshall. Jones and Marshall had recently started dating. Jones and Holland previously dated but had broken up. Three children were located inside the apartment when the police arrived. The children included two children that Jones and Holland had together as well as a child of Marshall’s. They were not physically harmed.”
In addition to being convicted of the three murders, the jury also found Holland guilty of desecration of human remains, hindering, felony murder, burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
At the end of the trial, the jury was brought back to deliberate on a separate count and found Holland guilty of being a convicted felon with a weapon, prosecutors said.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26, 2019. Holland faces life in prison, prosecutors said.
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