An arrest has been made in the March 12 killing of a Belleville woman, Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II and Belleville Police Chief Mark Minichini said late last week.
Johnny Rivera, 52, of the Bronx, has been arrested and charged with the killing of his girlfriend, Candy Torres, 50, of Belleville.
On March 12, family and friends were unable to reach the victim by phone, so a family member went to her Belleville home on Hero Way, only to find Torres unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:16 p.m.
An autopsy later determined the cause of death was blunt-force trauma.
The investigation, which is ongoing, is being handled by the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide/Major Crimes Task Force. Anyone with information is urged to contact the ECPO tips line at (877) 847-7432.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.