i grew up around the corner from where carmen lived on palisde and pretty much everyone on the block knew her. i hope she's getting what she deserves.

WAIT!? where on palisade was this? I dont remember this!

Jersey City woman, son sentenced in 2008 killing over 'diss'

By Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
April 23, 2010, 1:10PM

A Jersey City woman was sentenced to 30 years with no chance of parole and her son was sentenced to 12 years in prison today for the brutal Heights killing of a man who was nearly decapitated before being stripped and stuffed head first into a shopping cart.

"Nothing will bring him back, but something is better than nothing -- he's gone," said Erica Spencer, 24, of Virginia, after the sentencing of the pair for the death of her father, Tyrone W. Counts, 43, who was killed in a Palisade Avenue apartment on Dec. 11, 2008.

"He couldn't come to my wedding or meet my daughter or husband," Spencer said after the sentencing of Carmen Matos, 48, and Matos' son, Hector Lugo, 18, both of the apartment near Waverly Street.

"What makes it worse is that that the mother showed no sense of remorse," said Spencer, adding that Lugo had at least apologized.

Matos had pleaded guilty to murder and Lugo to aggravated manslaughter. Lugo's friend, Christopher Gonzalez, 19, who is believed to have been homeless, was also charged in the homicide. Gonzalez has pleaded guilt to aggravated manslaughter and faces up to 15 years when sentenced next Friday, Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Michael Zevits said.

The three killers were drinking and smoking marijuana the night of the homicide and at some point they became enraged at Counts for what they perceived was an insult aimed at Matos, Zevits said, adding that they attacked Counts with a baseball bat.

Counts was dragged into Matos' bedroom, where she finished him off with the bat and used a kitchen knife to try to cut off his head, Zevits said, adding that she had nearly cut three-quarters through his neck when her son stopped her.

Stripping and decapitating the body was apparently an attempt to reduce its weight and make Counts easier to dispose of, Zevits said. Counts' body was placed head first into a folding shopping cart in order to get it out of the apartment, but by then Lugo and Gonzalez could stomach no more and the body was never moved from the home, Zevits said.

The next day, Matos walked to the North District Police Station and told police there was a body in her apartment. Arriving officers found Counts in the shopping cart with his legs sticking into the air. Matos gave homicide detectives a statement describing what she had done and implicating her son and Gonzalez.

"No sentence will give the family the necessary justice for the emotional pain that they have gone through," said Zevits. "I'm hoping that the sentence will at least bring some closure to the horrific acts committed by the defendants."

More than 20 family members of the victim attended the sentencing, many traveling long distances to be there. Tearful statements were made at the sentencing by Spencer and the victim's sister, Tracey Counts. After the hearing family members headed to visit Tyrone Counts' grave.

Tracey Counts remembered her brother as artistic, creative, humorous and loving. "He had love for human beings, that was his downfall -- he had trust in people," Tracey Counts said. "He was, is and always will be missed."

Gonzalez will be sentenced by Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling at 9 a.m. in the Hudson County Administration Building on April 30

Arraignments today in shopping cart murder case

Monday, September 14, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Arraignments will be held today for the woman and two men charged with murdering a Jersey City man who was beaten and stabbed before his naked body was stuffed head-first into a folding shopping cart, officials said.

"These are obviously serious charges but my client is proclaiming her innocence and we will defend this case vigorously," attorney John Zunic said last week about his client, Carmen Matos, 47, who lived in the Palisade Avenue apartment where Tyrone W. Counts, 43, was murdered on Dec. 11.

Also being arraigned in the murder of Counts, aka "Sincere," is Matos' son, Hector Lugo, 18, of the same residence near Waverly Street, and Lugo's friend, Chris Gonzalez, 18, who was homeless. Lugo was 17 years old when Counts was killed but prosecutors chose to charge him as an adult.

Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said detectives believe the victim and three defendants were drinking and possibly using illegal drugs in the apartment prior to the murder.

At some point Counts said something that was interpreted as being disrespectful toward Matos and that led to an argument and "the homicidal assault," DeFazio said. Investigators believe the three people charged then continued drinking with Counts' body in the apartment, DeFazio said.

The next morning Matos walked into the North District police station and told officers there was a body in her apartment, officials said.

When police walked in they found Counts in the shopping cart with his legs sticking into the air, DeFazio said.

Today's arraignment is scheduled for 9 a.m. before Superior Court Judge Fred Theemling in the Hudson County Administration Building on Newark Avenue in Jersey City.

Lugo is being held on a $350,000 bail and the other two defendants are each being held on $500,000 bail.

TRIED AS AN ADULT?

Thursday, January 15, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Prosecutors have filed a motion seeking to charge a 17-year-old Jersey City boy as an adult in the slaying of a man who was beaten and stabbed to death before his naked body was stuffed head-first into a folding shopping cart in December, officials said.

The boy, as well as his mother, Carmen Matos, 47, of Palisade Avenue in Jersey City, and his 18-year-old homeless friend, Chris Gonzalez, are charged with the Dec. 11 murder of Tyrone W. Counts, 43.

The motion to charge the 17-year-old as an adult was filed in Family Court Tuesday by Assistant Prosecutor Joel Silberman and a hearing on the matter has been set for Tuesday, says Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor David Sharpe.

A conviction for murder as a minor carries a sentence of up to 20 years, while conviction as an adult carries a possible sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole until after serving 30 years, Sharpe noted.

At next week's hearing prosecutors will present any evidence they may have regarding the juvenile's participation in the murder, his criminal record and the nature of the crime, Sharpe said.

If the judge rules in the prosecution's favor, a complaint against the boy will be filed in Criminal Court and he will make a first appearance on the charges at an open hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court. Family Court proceedings are not open to the public.

The boy has been held at the Hudson County Youth House in Secaucus since his arrest. Matos is being held in the Hudson County jail in Kearny on a $500,000 cash-only bail and Gonzalez on a $750,000 cash-only bail.

Homicide detectives believe the victim and three defendants were drinking and possibly using illegal drugs in Matos' third-floor apartment near Waverly Street when Counts said something interpreted as being disrespectful to Matos, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

An argument erupted during which Counts, aka "Sincere," was fatally beaten with a bat and stabbed, officials said.

DeFazio said the defendants then continued drinking in the apartment and it wasn't until the next morning that Matos went to the North District Police Station to tell officers there was a body in her home.

Police walked in to find Counts in the shopping cart with his legs sticking into the air, DeFazio said.

Sisters mourn slain brother as gentle poet who loved all

Thursday, January 08, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Many will remember him as the man cops say was beaten, stabbed and stuffed head-first and naked into a shopping cart while his murderers continued to drink and party alongside his lifeless body.

But Tracey Counts remembers her brother, 43-year-old Tyrone Counts, who was killed Dec. 11 in a Jersey City apartment, allegedly by three acquaintances, as a talented and creative poet and father of two whose only fault was seeing only the good in those he met.

"He didn't discriminate as to who he hung out with," she said. "He just automatically saw the good in everyone."

Tyrone Counts grew up in Manhattan with two sisters and a brother. His mother is a computer programmer and his father is a professor of African-American studies and the pastor of a church.

"He came from a good background," Tracey said.

He became interested in writing poetry and drawing from an early age, and always carried around a black and white composition notebook to write down his poems, said his other sister, Desiree Counts.

"As children we sat together and read the dictionary - he had me write down words and the definitions," said Desiree, an optician who lives in Atlanta. "He taught me basically what I know."

After graduating from Seward Park High School, Tyrone spent three years in the Navy and then moved to Newport News, Va., where he became a residential and commercial painter, eventually opening Counts Custom Painting, which had recently secured a contract to paint the inside and outside of a U.S. Senate office building, Tracey said.

A divorced father of two daughters, one 23 and one 15, Desiree said Tyrone was a wonderful uncle to her three children. "We would visit my kids and they would just laugh, there was so much laughter," she said.

Carmen Matos, 47, her 17-year-old son and the son's 18-year-old homeless friend, Christopher Gonzalez, are charged with murdering Tyrone in Matos' apartment at Palisade Avenue and Waverly Street, according to Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

Detectives believe Counts and the defendants were drinking and possibly using illegal drugs in the apartment. At some point Tyrone said something that was interpreted as disrespectful toward Matos, DeFazio said. The comment led to the argument that led to the murder, officials said. The next day Matos told police there was a dead body in her apartment.

Tyrone had a girlfriend who lived in Jersey City, Tracey said.

The sisters said they had no idea how Tyrone came to be in the company of his alleged killers. "I've never heard them spoken of before," Desiree said.

The swift arrests gave the family "some comfort," she added.

"That takes away from the pain, knowing that they're not still out there," Tracey said, while adding, "I can't even describe to you the loss that we feel. He (Tyrone) was loved by many, by many."

THIS PARTY IS DEAD
Killers drank alongside naked corpse in cart: cops

Tuesday, December 16, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

After they had beaten and stabbed a man, and stuffed his naked body head-first into a shopping cart, the three people charged with his murder continued drinking and partying, officials said yesterday.

Carmen Matos, 47, her 17-year-old son and the son's 18-year-old homeless friend, Christopher Gonzalez, are charged with murdering Tyrone W. Counts, 43, in Matos' apartment at Palisade Avenue and Waverly Street on Thursday, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

DeFazio said homicide detectives believe the victim and three defendants were drinking and possibly using illegal drugs in the third-floor apartment.

At some point Counts, a.k.a. "Sincere," said something that was interpreted as being disrespectful toward Matos, DeFazio said.

"That precipitated the argument that resulted in the homicidal assault," said DeFazio, adding that Counts suffered head injuries as a result of being beaten with a bat and was stabbed

"They were all drinking and they then continued drinking," DeFazio said.

It wasn't until the next morning that Matos walked into the North District police station and told officers there was a body in her apartment on the top floor of the three-story building, officials said.

When police walked in they found Counts in the folding shopping car with his legs sticking into the air.

DeFazio said Counts may have been placed in the cart because there was an intention at some point to try to get the body out of the apartment. Investigators think Matos and the boy lived at the apartment and Gonzalez and the victim may have been "crashing" there.

Matos and Gonzalez made their first appearance on the charges yesterday afternoon in Central Judicial Processing Court via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.

CJP Judge Richard Nieto informed Matos that her bail had been set by Superior Court Judge Kevin Callahan at $500,000 cash only, and Callahan set Gonzalez's bail at $750,000 cash only.

Matos' son is being held without bail at the Hudson County Youth House in Secaucus, DeFazio said.

Anyone with information on the homicide is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

Homicide investigators checking death in the Jersey City Heights

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Friday December 12, 2008, 11:52 AM

Few details are available, but homicide investigators are checking into a death in a home this morning on Palisade Avenue in the Heights section of Jersey City, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio told The Jersey Journal.

A person walked into the North District Police Station this morning and notified officers of the death and what police found at the home on the 300 block of Palisade Avenue resulted in a response by investigators of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Squad, DeFazio said, without providing further details.

Homicide detectives responded after 10 a.m. and their investigation is very preliminary at this point, DeFazio said.

Additional information will be available this afternoon.

================================

Slay victim stuffed in cart 1 arrest, another expected

Saturday, December 13, 2008
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

A man's body was found stuffed head-first in a shopping cart inside a Jersey City apartment yesterday and the woman who lives there has been charged with murder after reporting it to the police, authorities said.

Carmen Matos, 47, is charged with murdering the man who police say was stabbed and beaten with a baseball bat inside the third-floor apartment on Palisade Avenue near Waverly Street, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.

"The investigation is ongoing and we expect there will be at least one other person charged," said DeFazio. Investigators have not yet been able to identify the victim.

Police think the man was killed on Thursday, perhaps in the afternoon.

"There was evidence of drinking going on and we believe that there was an argument that escalated to the homicidal attack," DeFazio said. "We are in the process of confirming that others besides the mother and son were home at the time of the assault."

Yesterday morning, Matos walked into the North District police station and told officers there was a dead person in her apartment, DeFazio said. When police arrived at the home and found the man in the folding shopping cart with his legs pointing up into the air, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Unit was called in, DeFazio said.

The victim had apparently been staying at the residence for a short time, but did not live there, DeFazio said. Investigators say it's possible the victim had been placed in the cart because it was to be used in an attempt to remove the body from the apartment.

Asked if the murder weapons were recovered, DeFazio only said: "There was evidence recovered at the crime scene. It was clearly not a robbery, not a stranger-on-stranger situation. Certainly the victim knew the resident of that apartment."

As dusk settled yesterday homicide investigators could be seen through the windows of Matos' top-floor apartment as they conducted their investigation.

Anyone with information on the killing is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

=======================================

Son now accused with mom in murder of man found in shopping cart

by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal
Saturday December 13, 2008, 4:43 PM

The 17-year-old son of a woman charged with murdering a man in their Palisade Avenue home in the Jersey City Heights has now been charged as well, prosecutors told The Jersey Journal today.

The 17-year-old son of a woman charged with murdering a man found in a shopping cart in their Jersey City Heights home has now been charged as well, prosecutors told The Jersey Journal today.

The boy is being charged as a juvenile, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

Meanwhile, investigators said they had not yet been able to positively identify the victim.

The man's body was found stuffed head-first into a folding shopping cart inside the third-floor apartment on Palisade Avenue yesterday after the woman who lives there walked into the North District police station to say there was a dead body in her home.

Carmen Matos, 47, was later charged with murdering the man who police say was stabbed and beaten with a baseball bat.

Late yesterday, the boy was charged.

The prosecutor's office is "still looking to talk to someone else,'' DeFazio said this afternoon.

It is believed others besides the mother and son were home at the time of the fatal assault, which authorities think happened on Thursday, perhaps in the afternoon.

"There was evidence of drinking going on and we believe that there was an argument that escalated to the homicidal attack," DeFazio said yesterday. "We are in the process of confirming that others besides the mother and son were home at the time of the assault."

The victim had apparently been staying at the residence for a short time, but did not live there, DeFazio said. Investigators say it's possible the victim had been placed in the cart because it was to be used in an attempt to remove the body from the apartment.

Asked if the murder weapons were recovered, DeFazio only said yesterday: "There was evidence recovered at the crime scene. It was clearly not a robbery, not a stranger-on-stranger situation. Certainly the victim knew the resident of that apartment."

As dusk settled last night homicide investigators could be seen through the windows of Matos' apartment as they conducted their investigation.

Anyone with information on the killing is asked to call the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office's Homicide Squad at (201) 915-1345.

========================================

Third charged in "shopping cart" homicide case

Monday, December 15, 2008
By CHARLES HACK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
and MICHAELANGELO CONTE

A third suspect has been charged with murder in connection with the slaying of a man whose body was found stuffed inside a shopping cart in a Jersey City apartment Friday night, Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said.

Christopher Gonzalez, 18, who is homeless, was arrested Saturday morning on Grove Street in Jersey City, DeFazio said. A Superior Court judge set his bail at $500,000, the prosecutor said.

On Friday, Carmen Matos, 47, and her 17-year-old son were arrested Friday and charged with the murder of the unidentified man, who police said was stabbed and beaten with a baseball bat and found in Matos' third floor apartment on Palisade Avenue near Waverly Street, officials said. The boy is currently being charged as a juvenile.

Matos reported the death at the North District police station on Friday, but authorities believe the man might have been killed on Thursday.

DeFazio said there was evidence that people had been drinking and an argument had escalated leading to the homicide.

When police arrived at Matos' home, they found the man in the folding shopping cart with his legs pointing up into the air, DeFazio said. Investigators say it's possible the victim had been placed in the cart because it was to be used in an attempt to remove the body from the apartment.