A New Jersey man has admitted to fatally stabbing his fiancée hours after he shared a video that showed him down on one knee, proposing to her at a nightclub.
Jose Melo, 53, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in connection with the death of Naket Jadix Trinidad Maldonado, according to a statement released by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office on Monday.
Maldonado, 31, was found dead the morning of Dec. 30, 2024, inside the home the couple shared on Florida Street in Elizabeth. Few other details have been provided.
The night before, Melo shared a clip on social media that showed him presenting a ring to Maldonado, apparently popping the question while the song Casate Conmigo (“Marry Me”) by Silvestre Dangond and Nicky Jam plays in the background.
“I love you baby,” he captioned the video, which was later corroborated by several local news outlets.
Maldonado — known by loved ones as “Naky” — was a mother, who left behind two daughters, according to a GoFundMe set up in wake of her death.
“Naky was senselessly taken from us on December 30 in an act of evil,” the page reads. “This horrible act by someone she trusted left her two children without either parent and with very little options for their future.”
Melo had previously been charged with first-degree murder and weapons offenses, for which he could have faced up to life in prison. However, in an agreement with prosecutors, he pleaded guilty last week to the lower charge of aggravated manslaughter.
Melo is slated to return to court in March for sentencing. Prosecutors said they plan to request a sentence of 28 years in New Jersey State Prison, with a requirement that he serves 85% before he’s eligible for parole.
