In the early hours of Friday, March 17, 2017, the life of 27-year-old Aaron Anderson of Paterson, New Jersey, was tragically cut short in a brutal act of violence. Firefighters responding to a vehicle fire on East 28th Street in Paterson made a grim discovery after extinguishing the flames; the bodies of Anderson and his lifelong friend, 25-year-old Antonio Vega Jr., were inside the torched Audi. Both men had been shot to death before the car was set ablaze. The vehicle was registered to Kim DePaola, a cast member of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey,' but was in the possession of her son, who Anderson had reportedly dropped off at the airport the previous night.
The investigation into the double homicide moved swiftly, and within days, Paterson police arrested two local men, Clarence Williams, 26, and Gerry Thomas, 28.
The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office announced that both men were charged with a litany of serious offenses, including two counts of felony murder, conspiracy to commit felony murder, robbery, aggravated arson, and firearm possession charges. Prosecutors believed that robbery was the motive for the killings. Anderson's mother revealed that her son knew the alleged killers, though they were not in the same social circles.
The arrests brought little solace to the grieving families. Anderson was remembered as a caring and giving person who was a doting father to his young son. Friends and family were left devastated by the senseless violence that took the lives of the two young fathers. In the subsequent legal proceedings, Gerry Thomas was convicted in March 2018 following a two-week trial. He received what amounts to a life sentence, with the judge ordering that he must serve 68 years before becoming eligible for parole. He and his accomplice, Clarence Williams, were found to have shot the victims during a robbery before purchasing lighter fluid to set the car on fire.
