'Treated her like garbage': Totowa man gets 15 years for role in killing of Paterson mom

PATERSON — A Totowa man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison after he admitted his role in the death of Stephanie DeJesus.

Originally charged with her murder, Justin Fisher pleaded guilty to second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension in February. The desecration charge carried a 10-year sentence, and the hindering charge carried a five-year sentence to run consecutively.

DeJesus, a 38-year-old Paterson mother, was found stuffed into the trunk of her car two years ago at James Street and Ryerson Avenue in the city.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office had to drop the murder charge after important blood evidence had to be thrown out. During an April hearing, Judge Justine Niccollai reluctantly accepted Fisher's plea and criticized the state for its handling of the case, saying the court was "disgusted."

Fisher's fiancée, Joelle Martucci, was the prosecution's main witness. She had pleaded guilty to hindering and tampering with evidence in March 2022, agreeing to cooperate with the investigation. When Martucci first spoke to police, she denied knowing anything, saying she didn't see anything and someone else may have been in the home who was not Fisher or family members. But later, Martucci's defense attorney said she wanted to cooperate, and she provided a second statement to police.

During her plea hearing, she told the court about the effort to dispose of DeJesus' body by Fisher and his family.

Related: Relatives of slain Paterson woman say accused killer's plea deal denies them the motive

His parents, Clo Fisher and Ali Gibson, pleaded guilty in August for their roles in cleaning up the crime scene and disposing of DeJesus' body. They were sentenced in November, with Clo Fisher getting noncustodial probation for five years for hindering apprehension while Gibson was sentenced to five years for desecration of human remains.

DeJesus' family members have been vocal about their objections to how the case moved along and how they've suffered because of it. They have been highly critical of Assistant Prosecutor Jonathan Barrera and what they called his lack of transparency regarding the case. During his statements, Barrera said he understood the family members' frustration and their feeling that justice has not been served.

"I understand why their anger is directed this way because of the fact they feel justice would not be served. I get it, because it wasn't," Barrera said. "Because no matter what your honor sentences the defendant to, as you heard, it won't matter. It'll never bring Stephanie back."

The courtroom was packed with over a dozen sheriff's officers and the friends and families of both DeJesus and Fisher. A large poster board with a photo of DeJesus had a place of honor in the front of the room.

DeJesus' family and friends pleaded with Niccolai to impose the maximum sentence possible for Fisher, and a number of them spoke, giving victim impact statements. DeJesus' sister, Ashley, spoke first for the family, sobbing and telling the court how she lost a piece of her heart when her sister was killed. She said she and the rest of the family are doing what they can to help raise DeJesus' son, Joseph.

"His world was turned upside down," Ashley DeJesus said. "He doesn't say much, but I know he's hurting, because, like me, he chooses to suffer in silence."

She said the last time she saw her sister was when the police opened the trunk and she saw her sister stuffed in it.

DeJesus' friend Jennifer Rodriguez said DeJesus was so friendly, and she would get frustrated by it.

"She welcomed everyone to the point that she welcomed her killer," Rodriguez said.

During the sentencing, Fisher's attorney Alissa Hascup still maintained that a different person was responsible for DeJesus' death and that his actions were under duress.

Hascup said the person who killed DeJesus is the one getting away with murder, not Fisher. However, during the victim impact statements, DeJesus' family said that if Fisher wasn't the one who killed her but knew who did, he should man up and tell them and law enforcement who did it.

Hascup also criticized the investigation, noting the failure in testing DNA under DeJesus's fingernails and how the FBI didn't test the suspected blood samples taken from the cleaned crime scene.

The defense attorney said her client was willing to accept responsibility for moving DeJesus' body and cleaning up evidence but wasn't going to plead guilty to a murder he didn't commit.

Fisher, through Hascup, gave a statement saying he and his family have "been dragged through the mud" for being close-knit and were made out to be a "gang." He apologized for bringing them into his actions. He also apologized to DeJesus' family. Fisher's sister and best friend spoke on his behalf, saying he was not capable of killing DeJesus.

Niccollai had harsh words for Fisher, noting he did not show any remorse during any of the proceedings and saying he was selfish, thinking only of himself.

"This young lady was his friend. This was not a stranger on the street," Niccollai said. "He treated her like garbage."

The judge said Fisher had the chance to call 911 but didn't, letting DeJesus lie in a puddle of her own blood on the floor and instead called his family to help dispose of her body and clean up his mess. Niccollai said she received letters talking about his integrity as a person but said his actions showed anything but.

"The first thing he thought about is self-preservation," Niccollai said. "The way in which he treated her body wasn't with any sort of humane, responsible behavior."

Fisher has 45 days to appeal the sentence handed down by Niccollai.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Totowa NJ man sentenced in killing of Stephanie DeJesus