Investigators in New Jersey are looking into what led to the fatal stabbing of a woman inside her Somerville home.
The Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed Alyne Espinal, 46, was discovered with multiple lacerations to her chest, neck and thigh. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her husband, Ignacio Espinal, 55, was arrested on Tuesday in West New York, New Jersey.
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Officers responded to a 911 call on Thursday just before 7:30 p.m. “reporting concerns for the welfare” of a woman living on Brookside Avenue.
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This recent homicide happened just 20 minutes away from Chester, where new mother Brooke Hanlon, 35, was found butchered inside her home in June. The Morris County mystery continues to baffle the community.
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Hanlon was found dead on June 6. Exactly two months later and unrelated to the case, on Aug. 6, Espinal was found dead just 15 miles away in neighboring Somerset County.
The key difference in the Somerset County homicide case compared to Hanlon’s Morris County case is that days after Espinal was found dead, authorities identified a suspect and made an arrest.
Coincidentally, Conor Hanlon, Brooke Hanlon’s husband, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, used to work for a construction contractor in Somerville, less than a mile from the scene of this recent incident.
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For the Somerset County case, the Prosecutor’s Office said in part:
“The following information is based on a preliminary and ongoing investigation, which continues to evolve as investigators interview witnesses, review physical and electronic records, and analyze forensic evidence.”
Espinal is facing charges of first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and third-degree hindering.
