Richard Santiago Charged in Slaying of Ramona Johnstone, Who Testified Against Him
Santiago is accused of fatally stabbing Johnstone insider her Woodbury apartment. She had testified against him during his 2006 trial in a slaying at the same apartment complex.
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Ramona Johnstone helped put Richard Santiago behind bars.
Six years later, he returned and ended her life, prosecutors allege.
Santiago, 60, of the 1200 block of Carl Miller Boulevard in Camden, was charged Friday in the Dec. 17 slaying of Johnstone inside her residence at Woodbury Court Apartments, on Broad Street in Woodbury.
He is charged with first-degree murder, a third-degree charge of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and a third-degree charge of hindering prosecution. Superior Court Judge Walter L. Marshall Jr. set Santiago's bail at $1 million.
Johnstone, 54, was found unconscious in her apartment Monday night and was pronounced dead on arrival at Underwood-Memorial Hospital, Woodbury. She died of multiple stab wounds, an autopsy concluded.
Johnstone was a prosecution witness in Santiago’s trial on charges of fatally stabbing a 44-year-old Mantua Township man in the same Woodbury apartment complex on Sept. 12, 2004.
Santiago was convicted in his 2006 trial of aggravated manslaughter in the death of Richard King, an acquaintance of Johnstone's. Santiago was sentenced to nine years in state prison. He was released May 6, 2012.
Santiago was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 19 on a parole violation charge unrelated to Johnstone’s death. He is being held in the Camden County Jail in lieu of bail.
“The arrest was the culmination of good police work by the Major Crimes, Crime Scene and Fugitive units of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, along with several members of the Woodbury Police Department and the New Jersey Department of Parole,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton.
The investigation into Ramona Johnstone’s death remains open. Anyone with information related to the slaying is asked to contact the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office at 856-384-5500, the Woodbury Police Department at 856-845-0065 or text an anonymous tip to GLOTIP + your message to 274637 (CRIMES).
Correction: Santiago was released from custody in May, not paroled. The prosecutor's office originally sent out incorrect information.
JD Ackley
5:23 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
Are you kidding me?
“The arrest was the culmination of good police work by the Major Crimes, Crime Scene and Fugitive units of the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office, along with several members of the Woodbury Police Department and the New Jersey Department of Parole,” said Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean F. Dalton.
What a joke. An effective justice system would have kept a convicted killer behind bars. My heart breaks for the family of Ms. Johnstone as well as the other victim of this scumbag.
When do we wake up and see what we are doing with our justice system and hold them accountable? How many more senseless murders have to happen? Little support for mental illness and precious little space for violent criminals in a justice system that prefers incarceration over rehabilitation. Oh and that horribly failed war on drugs. Almost half of the people behind bars are in for drug offenses(*cited below).
How many more tragedies, at home and across the nation, have to happen before we demand something better?
(On Dec. 31, 2011, there were 197,050 sentenced prisoners under federal jurisdiction. Of these, 94,600 were serving time for drug offenses, 14,900 for violent offenses, 10,700 for property offenses, and 69,000 for "public order" offenses (of which 22,100 were sentenced for immigration offenses, 29,800 for weapons offenses, and 17.100 for "other"[FBI]).
Rhonda King
12:12 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
My heart is breaking...... His first victim was brother, Richard King.
Barney
10:51 am on Sunday, December 23, 2012
Illegal gun owner????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Barney
10:52 am on Sunday, December 23, 2012
Where are the guns???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
T. Powers
10:45 am on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
The police are not responsible for sentencing and release of criminals, so I can't think that they are to blame for this.
Bob
12:19 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
too bad the victim didn't have a gun at home and why is bail set for this guy in any amount? when she testified against him years ago she should have gotten money to relocate far away from Camden
JD Ackley
12:38 pm on Tuesday, December 25, 2012
I hope you didn't think I implied the police were responsible, I think it the problem with the entire justice system. Police are just the feet on the street. This man should have never been released. 6 years for violently stabbing someone to death? Only to come out and do it again? How can anybody feel safe with a justice system that functions this way?
MancaveTroll
4:16 pm on Sunday, January 20, 2013
Why was this fool released??