An evening walk for pizza with her younger sister turned into a tragedy for 18-year-old Marilyn Cotto Montanez of Yonkers, New York. On April 25, 2019, as she and her nine-year-old sister walked down Morningside Avenue, a single gunshot ended her life. Montanez was an innocent bystander, caught in the crossfire of a dispute that had nothing to do with her. The bullet struck the high school student in the head, and she was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Her sister, who witnessed the horrific event, was unharmed physically but left with the devastating memory of her sister's final moments.
The investigation into the senseless killing quickly pointed to a 15-year-old boy, Jamir Thompson. Authorities revealed that the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a gold chain that Thompson had allegedly stolen earlier that day. While firing at another male, Thompson's stray bullet found Montanez instead. Following the incident, Thompson fled the scene, prompting a manhunt by the Yonkers Police Department. A reward was offered for information leading to his arrest, and authorities warned that anyone found harboring him would face prosecution.
Approximately two weeks after the shooting, on May 7, 2019, Jamir Thompson turned himself in to the police. Prosecuted as a juvenile offender, he eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in July 2021. In September 2021, the then 17-year-old Thompson was sentenced to nine years to life in state prison for his role in the death of Marilyn Cotto Montanez, bringing a legal conclusion to a case that tragically cut short a young woman's life.
