ESSEX COUNTY, N.J. – A violent New Jersey man was convicted in the triple murder of two children and a college student he killed after forcing his way into a home because he was angry about the family reposting a police alert on Facebook about him, prosecutors announced Saturday.
Jeremy Arrington, 31, was found guilty on a wide range of charges (28 total) related to a 2016 Newark home invasion. During the series of horrific crimes, he bound and tortured six people inside, killing three and stabbing three others, the Essex County prosecutor said, according to NJ.com.
“We are forever grateful to the courageous survivors and witnesses who testified as well as the investigative personnel who helped bring this defendant to justice. Hopefully this verdict will bring some form of justice to all of the families and friends affected by this defendant’s horrific actions,” Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justice Edwab said in a statement.
Arrington fatally stabbed Aerial Little Whitehurst, 8, and Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, then shot and killed Syasia McBorroughs, 23, who was a college student visiting the family, the New York Post reported.
The New Jersey man fatally stabbed Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, (left) and Aerial Little Whitehurst, 8. (GoFundMe)
The children’s 29-year-old mother and 13-year-old twins — a boy and a girl — survived their stab wounds, according to the news outlet.
Arrington’s deadly rage came after one of of the stabbing victims had apparently reposted a police alert on Facebook that identified Arrington as a suspect in a previous shooting and sexual assault, officials said, according to NJ.com.
The convicted killer broke into the Whitehurst residence in November 2016 armed with a firearm. He bound everyone in the home before torturing them with kitchen knives, ultimately murdering three. The homicidal attack occurred in the middle of the day, prosecutors said.
The female twin managed to break free and elude the killer, while calling police from inside a closet, prosecutors said.
Although Arrington fled prior to officers’ arrival, he was later arrested following a standoff with police at a home on Pomona Avenue, NJ.com reported.
The children were rushed to University Hospital in Newark, but did not survive. McBurroughs was pronounced dead at the scene.
College student Syasia McBorroughs, 23, was shot and killed by Arrington. (Facebook)
Arrington was found guilty on all 28 charges including three counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder, burglary, criminal restraint and weapons charges on Saturday, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 18.
