A woman who watched as her boyfriend brutally killed six people in his family, including two young boys, in his aunt’s home in Chicago and then helped him steal from the dead family was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Jafeth Ramos, 25, cut a deal with Cook County prosecutors, and she agreed to testify against the killer, her ex-boyfriend, Diego Uribe Cruz. She entered a guilty plea to a lesser armed robbery charge, and instead of getting life in prison, she got 25 years.
Last month, a jury found Diego Cruz, 28, guilty of six counts of murder in the first degree in the murder of six family members in February 2016, and he was sentenced to life in prison.
During her trial on Wednesday, Ramos told the court how she watched Cruz kill members of his extended family inside their home in the Gage Park neighborhood in Chicago.
The wildly evil and senseless death of the family resulted from a botched robbery that only wielded about $250, some jewelry, a piggy bank, and an Xbox.
On Feb 2, 2016, Ms. Ramos and the convicted killer Cruz were coming home from a medical clinic when the Cruz told Ramos they had to pass by his aunt’s house before going home because he had some business to take care of.
Ramos told the court that Cruz said he would kill them at some point during their conversation and then whipped out a gun and showed her. She said she thought he was joking and did not take him seriously.
Cruz’s aunt, Maria Martinez, 32, shared her home with her two kids, her brother, and her parents. When Ramos and Cruz arrived, they found the family sitting down to have dinner, and Cruz’s aunt offered them food.
Cruz asked to speak to Martinez privately, and Ramos followed them to Martinez’s room in the second floors attic.
Cruz pulled a gun on his aunt Martinez and demanded all the money she had. At first, the aunt laughed, but started grabbing the weapon, and Cruz shot her in the head. When Martinez’s brother tried to help, Cruz pinned him on his throat with a knee until he died.
The aunt’s mother also came to help, but Cruz kicked her down the stairs. He then stabbed her repeatedly with a knife until she died.
Martinez’s two kids, 13 and 10-year-old boys were forced by Cruz to help the couple look for valuables, and afterward, Ramos said she told them to get their clothes and toothbrushes. Cruz followed the 10-year-old to a basement bedroom and killed him. Then, he cornered the 13-year-old in the living room and stabbed him to death despite the boy’s pleas for mercy.
The couple waited for Martinez’s father, 62-year-old Noe Martinez, to return home, and Cruz stabbed him too.
Police discovered the bodies of the six family members two days later during a welfare check. Authorities arrested the couple several months after the gruesome murder. They charged both with first-degree murder in May 2016, but Ramos told police Cruz had killed the whole family alone, and she had just watched.
Ramos pleaded guilty to armed robbery last year after she agreed to testify against Cruz.
Cruz’s defense lawyer said he couldn’t have killed six people alone, instead telling the court that four armed robbers had killed the family. The jury didn’t buy it.