Monmouth Co. Prosecutor 'Elated' Woman Who Killed Her Children Denied Parole

UNION BEACH, NJ — Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond Santiago said this week he was "elated" Maria Montalvo was denied early release from prison.

Montalvo, 61, is the Union Beach woman convicted for killing her two children, a toddler son and baby daughter. In 1994, she poured gasoline on them while they were still strapped into their car seats and set the car on fire. The 16-month-old girl and her 2-year-old brother died by burning to death, the prosecutor said previously.

Montalvo, who also goes by the name Maria Dailey, is currently serving a 100-year prison sentence for their deaths. So far, she's served 29 years.

"I was elated to hear that the Parole Board recognized that releasing Maria Montalvo is incompatible with justice, especially for someone who refuses to fully accept their actions," said the prosecutor.

Montalvo maintains she is innocent. She says she lit a cigarette in her car that day and the flash fire started because of fumes coming from a plastic container of gasoline she had put in the backseat of her car.

On his final day in office, Jan. 20, Gov. Phil Murphy granted clemency to 148 people serving prison sentences in New Jersey, and Montalvo was one of them. She is also supported by the New Jersey ACLU. Murphy's decision made her eligible for early release from prison for good behavior. She applied immediately after Murphy granted her clemency, but last Friday, April 17, the New Jersey State Parole Board denied her request.

Several people asked the state Parole Board to keep her behind bars, including Monmouth County Prosecutor Santiago. Raul Aponte did as well. He is Montalvo's ex-fiance and the father of the two children. Aponte sent a letter to the parole board begging them not to let Montalvo out of prison, reported the Asbury Park Press, which published part of his letter.

Before she killed the children, Montalvo had argued with Aponte, and he said he was going to leave her. She drove to his mother's home on Buttonwood Avenue in Long Branch, parked and the car burst into flames. Aponte's mother testified she saw Montalvo throw an object towards the gasoline can in the backseat.

Santiago said the jury that heard her case at the time (1997) was deadlocked on whether she should die via lethal injection. Instead, they gave her a 100-year prison sentence, with the requirement that she serve at least 60 years before the possibility of parole.

Until Murphy made his decision this year, she would not have been eligible for parole until 2054, when she was 90 years old.

Santiago said earlier this year he was "in revulsion" at Murphy's decision to grant clemency to Montalvo. She will be eligible for parole again in 36 months.