South Brunswick Man Gets 24 Years For Killing Mom In Front Of Son

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SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ — A South Brunswick man was sentenced to 24 years in prison on June 1, for the January 2025 killing of a Freehold woman that was witnessed by her young son, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

Roman Romanovskiy, 42, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the death of Lauren Saldana, 38, and was sentenced by Judge Andrea Carter in Middlesex County Superior Court.

He was credited with 508 days already served and, under the state's No Early Release Act, must serve 85 percent of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole, followed by five years of parole supervision.

Romanovskiy was originally charged with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child following the Jan. 9, 2025, death of Saldana from Freehold. As part of a plea agreement, the murder charge was amended to aggravated manslaughter, and the remaining charges were dismissed, according to judgment documents

Police were called to a home on Route 27 in South Brunswick around 3:15 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2025, after a report of an unresponsive woman. Officers found Saldana unconscious, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Authorities said children were present in the home when Saldana was killed, and that "the acts resulting in the victim's death were committed in the presence of minors." Police said Saldana and Romanovskiy knew each other and that the killing was not a random act of violence.

Saldana had given birth three weeks before her death and was the mother of four children, ranging in age from 5 weeks to 19 years old, according to a GoFundMe launched by her family days after the killing. The fundraiser said Saldana's 5-year-old son witnessed her death and that her eldest daughter was seeking custody of him.

In October 2025, Saldana's 17-year-old son, Gabriel Saldana, died in a single-vehicle crash on Route 72 in Stafford Township. Authorities said Gabriel may have fallen asleep at the wheel before his vehicle struck a utility pole and rolled over.

As part of Romanovskiy's sentence, the court found that aggravating factors — including the risk he would commit another offense, the seriousness of his prior criminal record, and the need to deter him and others — substantially outweighed any mitigating factors.

The court also cited that the offense involved an act of domestic violence committed in the presence of a child under 16.

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