In the early hours of July 6, 2014, a violent outburst shattered the holiday weekend quiet in a Bridgeport, Connecticut, home, claiming the life of 24-year-old Hispanic female Kiromy Fontanez. The tragic events unfolded in her Pearl Street residence, where she lived with her mother, her mother's boyfriend, and her own 5-year-old daughter. The tranquility of the night was broken when her ex-boyfriend, 35-year-old Jose Santiago, arrived at the house consumed by anger after Fontanez had ended
their long-term relationship.
What followed was a brutal and determined act of violence. Santiago, armed with a legally registered. 45-caliber handgun, forced his way into the multi-family home at approximately 3:36 a.m. The boyfriend of Fontanez's mother, Jorge Jimenez, heroically attempted to intervene and prevent Santiago from entering but was shot in the leg for his efforts. Undeterred, Santiago proceeded to the second-floor living room where he fatally shot Fontanez in the lower jaw. Her mother and young daughter were also in the house at the time of the incident but were not physically harmed.
In the immediate aftermath, Santiago fled the scene, hailing a taxi destined for New Britain. He was apprehended a short time later, discovered barefoot and with blood on him in the back of the cab. In police custody, Jose Santiago gave a full confession to the murder of Kiromy Fontanez and the shooting of Jorge Jimenez. He was held on a $3 million bond.
Ultimately, Jose Santiago pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm and first-degree assault. The plea was part of an agreement reached as the case was heading to trial, where his defense might have argued he acted under extreme emotional disturbance. On April 22, 2016, a judge sentenced Santiago to 36 years in prison for the violent acts that ended a young mother's life and irrevocably altered the lives of her family.
