Newark woman gets 55 years for fatal stabbing of romantic rival

By Thomas Zambito - The Star-Ledger

September 27, 2013

A Newark woman was sentenced to 55 years in prison Friday for tossing bleach in the eyes of her romantic rival before fatally stabbing her as the victim’s two young children watched.

Nadiyah Venable, 23, will serve at least 47 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole under the terms of the sentence delivered by Superior Court Judge Sherry Hutchins-Henderson in Newark.

On May 15, 2010, Venable confronted Sha-Ron Moens, 29, in her Newark home after Venable found out that her boyfriend had decided to call off their relationship to reunite with Moens, the mother of his two children.

Venable, who was six months pregnant at the time, threw bleach in Moens’ eyes and then stabbed her 30 times while Moens’ two boys — ages 3 and 6 — watched.

“Sha-Ron was a good girl and she loved her three children,” Moens’ grandmother told the judge in a letter read by Assistant Prosecutor Purva Deshpande. “The boys still miss her.”

Moens’ 13-year-old daughter ran for help while the boys tried to clean blood off their mother, according to testimony at Venable’s trial. "I have to clean up Mommy," the 3-year-old said, according to a neighbor's testimony.

“Nothing can erase what those children witnessed in this savage attack, but this sentence sends a clear message that committing such a violent and senseless crime will not be tolerated,” Deshpande said.

On June 27, an Essex County jury deliberated for two hours before finding Venable guilty of murder, burglary and weapons charges following a three-week trial.

At trial, Venable tried to shift blame onto her 15-year-old cousin who accompanied her to the Mount Prospect Avenue home for the May 15, 2010, attack. She claimed the cousin, Aliyah Venable, tossed the bleach in Moens’ face, beat her with brass knuckles and then stabbed her to death. And, Venable said, Moens tried to attack her with a knife.

But, in a statement to police the day after the slaying, Venable claimed that she and her cousin went to the apartment to “rough up” Moens. Aliyah Venable pleaded guilty to her role in the slaying and testified that her cousin stabbed Moens.

Irvington woman convicted in stabbing death of killing Newark mother of three

By Julia Terruso - The Star-Ledger

June 27, 2013

NEWARK— A jury today found a 23-year-old Irvington woman guilty of fatally stabbing a Newark mother of three in 2010.

When the verdict was announced, family members of the victim, Sha-Ron Moens, raised their heads toward the ceiling, crying and smiling. Some crossed themselves, On the other side of the aisle, family and friends of the defendant, Nadiyah Venable, wept openly, their heads dropping toward the floor.

Venable did not react to the multiple convictions of burglary, conspiracy, murder, felony murder and weapons charges for which she faces 30 years to life in prison when she is sentenced Sept. 27.

"It's not going to bring my sister back but I'm just happy to get justice for her and her kids," said Moens' sister, Felicia Moens, who was flanked by family and friends who have attended the trial faithfully.

Venable was charged with stabbing Moens dozens of times in the Mount Prospect Avenue home Moens shared with her 10-year-old daughter and her sons, ages 3 and 6. Venable was six months pregnant and angry her baby's father had reunited with Moens, 29, with whom he had two children, according to testimony.

Testifying in her own defense, Venable blamed her 15-year-old cousin for the May 15, 2010, killing. She said she went to the apartment that day to collect money from Jones to pay electricity bills. She said it was her cousin, Aliyah Venable, who threw bleach at Moens, beat her with brass knuckles, and stabbed her to death.

But that testimony contradicted a statement Venable gave police the day after the murder in which she admitted the cousins went to the house that day to "rough (Moens) up"

The testimony was also challenged by Aliyah Venable, who said in a statement provided in exchange for her plea in juvenile court that Nadiyah stabbed Moens.

The three-week trial included testimony from Moens' now 13-year-old daughter who identified Nadiyah Venable as one of the women who broke into her apartment. The girl ran to get help and did not witness the stabbing but her younger brothers were standing beside their mother trying to clean the blood off of her with towels when police arrived.

Moens' children are living with family members.

Defense Attorney Bill Strazza said he and Venable respect the verdict, which was returned after three hours of deliberation, but are considering an appeal.

Assistant Prosecutor Purva Deshpande who prosecuted the case along with Assistant Prosecutor Cynthia Teller, said the verdict brought relief to a grieving family.

"They've been waiting for this day for more than three years and I think they feel they really got justice. Of course they're going to grieve forever but hopefully they can put this aspect of the tragedy behind them."

Daughter, 13, testifies about intruder accused of fatally stabbing her mother

By Julia Terruso - The Star-Ledger

June 13, 2013

The 13-year-old girl held her gaze in the Newark courtroom as sheriff's officers escorted the woman accused of killing her mother past her. Her eyes followed Nadiyah Venable all the way to the defense table where the defendant sat down and immediately looked at the floor.

The girl, whose family requested her name not be used, was 10 when she answered the door of her apartment on May 15, 2010, the day before Mother's Day, and greeted her mother's killers.

Sha-Ron Moens was found stabbed to death in the Mount Prospect Avenue apartment around 12:30 p.m. that day. Prosecutors have said Venable, who was six months pregnant and angry that her boyfriend had gotten back together with Moens planned the attack with a cousin.

"My mom was blasting music like always and cleaning up, my brothers were playing with cars and with their toys and I was cleaning my room," said the girl, who testified at Venable's murder trial today. Swaying back and forth on the witness stand, she added, "Then I heard the doorbell ring."

The girl said that when she answered the door, she recognized Venable — whom she had met previously — standing outside next to a woman she did not know. Moments later, the second woman, who Venable has told police was her cousin, retrieved a plastic spice bottle and splashed bleach in Moens' face, blinding her.

As Moens fell backward, Venable began punching her "with fists," the girl said.

"She was saying, like, 'No, stop I have three kids,'" the girl said as family and friends wept in the gallery.

The girl did not witness the stabbing, she said, because she had run to get help at a local doctor’s office from where she called 911. Her two brothers remained inside the apartment during the attack and police say they were standing next to the body when EMTs arrived.

The girl was reunited with her brothers, who were still dressed in their pajamas, when an ambulance took them to the hospital.

“What did you notice about your brothers?” Assistant Prosecutor Purva Deshpande asked.

“They were crying,” the girl said, “and they had blood on the bottom of their feet.”

The defense has argued it was Venable’s cousin, 15-year-old Aliyah Venable who killed Moens. Aliyah Venable pleaded guilty to conspiracy in juvenile court and had all other charges dismissed.

Throughout the 30 minutes of testimony today, the girl smiled to get through the questions and exchanged glances with her aunt, who would give her a thumbs up sign to keep her going. She only broke down once, when Deshpande first mentioned Nadiyah's name.

At the end of her testimony the girl walked off the stand, head held high, as a friend wrapped an arm around her and continued down the aisle and out of the courtroom.

Irvington woman planned to 'rough up' Newark mother stabbed to death

By Julia Terruso - The Star-Ledger

June 12, 2013

Nadiyah Venable was venting to a female cousin, angry her boyfriend had gotten back together with another woman when, she said, the cousins came up with a plan to "rough her up" on a Saturday afternoon in May 2010.

Armed with bleach they poured into small spice containers, Venable told detectives in a statement, she and Aliyah Venable, who was 15 at the time, went to the home of ShaRon Moens' on Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark and attacked her.

Moens' was found stabbed to death around 12:30 p.m. May 15, 2010. Her children were at her side when police arrived.

Venable is charged with burglary for allegedly entering the home with the intent to injure Moens, conspiracy, murder, felony murder and weapons charges. She was six months pregnant at the time of the attack and angry the baby's father, Kenny Jones, had gotten back together with Moens, with whom he has two children, according to the statement played for jurors today, the second day of her murder trial in Newark.

In the tape, Venable says Moens grabbed a knife from the kitchen to defend herself and was then stabbed by Aliyah Venable.

Aliyah Venable pleaded guilty to conspiracy in juvenile court and had murder charges dismissed. She now lives in North Carolina.

While Nadiyah Venable says her cousin killed Moens, prosecutors say it was Nadiyah Venable who had the motive and the knife.

In the videotaped statement, Venable initially told detectives she had gone to Moens' apartment with a man, but later admitted the attacker was her cousin.

The hour-long statement brought many family members and friends of Moens' to tears in the gallery. Two ran out sobbing during the portion where the detectives asked Venable what Moens was doing as she was being stabbed.

"She was calling out, 'My kids, my kids,'" Venable said on the tape, "and at one point she called for her grandmother."

Neighbor says child cried out 'I have to clean up mommy' as his mother lay dying

By Julia Terruso - The Star-Ledger

June 11, 2013

As a neighbor tried to apply pressure to the countless stab wounds on Sha-Ron Moens' body, the dying woman's 3-year-old son ran over to her with a towel.

"I have to clean up Mommy," the boy said in tears.

A neighbor recounted this heartbreaking scene in the opening of the trial of Nadiyah Venable, who is charged with fatally stabbing Moens in May 2011, angry her ex-boyfriend had left her for Moens. All three of Moens' children ages 10, 6 and 3 were home during the noon-time attack on Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark.

"By the time the ambulance arrived they were too late," said Assistant Prosecutor Purva Deshpande as family members sobbed quietly in the gallery. "They found ShaRon face down in a pool of blood. Also in that blood were her 6-year-old and 3-year-old sons crying out for their mother."

Venable, 23, of Irvington, was 6 ½ months pregnant when prosecutors say she attacked Moens who was married to Kenny Jones, the father of Venable's baby.

Deshpande said in her opening statement Venable was angry Jones had gotten back together with Moens. She allegedly formed a plan along with her then-15-year-old cousin to beat up Moens that afternoon. The two brought bleach with them and when Moens came to the door, splashed it in her face, Desphande said. The bleach also splashed onto Moens' 10-year-old daughter.

As the fight moved into the apartment, Deshpande said the daughter, drenched in bleach, ran out of the house and to a nearby travel agency where she called 9-1-1.

"A knife was taken from the kitchen and used to stab ShaRon over and over and over with the children still in the house," Desphande said.

But defense attorney William Strazza said the noon-time attack was carried out by Venable's 15-year-old cousin who pleaded guilty in juvenile court to a conspiracy charge and then moved to North Carolina, where she was subsequently charged with a robbery.

"The question is who stabbed who. I submit (the cousin) knocked on the door, threw the bleach and committed the murder and then pleaded guilty to conspiracy in exchange for having the other charges dismissed," Strazza said.

He said the prosecution set their sights on Venable from the beginning and never backed down even when the evidence didn't fit. He told jurors his client would take the stand in her own defense.

Venable is charged with burglary for allegedly entering the home with the intent to injure Moens, conspiracy, murder, felony murder and weapons charges.

Irvington woman is charged with fatal stabbing of Newark mother of three in her home

By Philip Read - The Star-Ledger

May 17, 2010

NEWARK — Kenneth Jones recalls waking early for his job as a mover, then loading up furniture from a house in East Orange for a trek to Trenton. On the New Jersey Turnpike, not far from the capitol, his cell phone rang.

"Mommy’s dead! Mommy’s dead!" he said of the words spoken by his 10-year-old stepdaughter at the apartment he shared with his wife, the girl and 6- and 3-year-old sons on Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark’s North Ward.

Today, Nadiyah Venable — described as Jones’ 20-year-old ex-girlfriend from Irvington — was charged with murder, burglary and weapons offenses in the brutal mid-day stabbing Saturday of Sha-Ron Moens, 29, in the doorway of the couple’s apartment while the children were home and Jones was away at work.

She was being held on $750,000 bail as the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said it was looking for an unidentified male who accompanied Venable to the apartment in her Ford Explorer, which authorities said Venable reported stolen in East Orange the next morning. There, police took her into custody.

"She witnessed it all," Jones, 39, said today of his step-daughter.

"She was able to call me on the phone."

During the scuffle, authorities said, Venable allegedly threw a liquid substance in the victim’s face, something Jones described as bleach. "The splatter was all over my kids’ shirts," he said.

The prosecutor’s office said Moens suffered multiple stab wounds and was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. at University Hospital in Newark.

About a month ago, Jones said, he and his wife of about 8 years — who had reconciled — moved into the Mount Prospect Avenue apartment. "We had our little ups and downs," he said of the relationship.

That, he said, didn’t sit well with Venable, who he and authorities said was now pregnant. "I always take care of my responsibilities," Jones said. "I just couldn’t be in a relationship with her. I was going back to my wife."

The North Ward neighborhood is a well-kept one, populated by brick four-story apartment houses, whose iron fire escapes zigzag up the front facades. Along the curb-line, wood whiskey-barrel planters stand filled with spring flowers.

Just a doorway down from the scene of Saturday afternoon’s slaying, past the bright red awning of Alexandra Deli & Grocery, owner Jerry Acosta had come to recognize the young woman who frequented his store along with her daughter. "Every day, they came into the store," he said today. "A beautiful person. ... a very, very nice person."

Anibal Ramos Jr., Newark’s North Ward councilman, had already been to the crime scene. "It was a tragic situation I don’t think anybody would have suspected."

Today, arrangements for Moens were being handled by Churchman Funeral Home, 345 13th Ave. in Newark, with visiting from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, followed by a 9 a.m. service at Churchman’s and burial at Evergreen Cemetery in Hillside on Friday — Jones’ 40th birthday.

Police arrest woman in stabbing death of Newark mother of three

By Steve Strunsky - The Star-Ledger

May 16, 2010

NEWARK -- A woman has been arrested in Saturday's fatal stabbing of a Newark mother of three, after reporting to police that her SUV had been stolen, officials said.

The father of two of the victim's three children said the accused killer is his ex-girlfriend, whom he left in recent weeks to return to the victim and their children.

Nadiyah Venable was arrested at East Orange Police headquarters, where she had gone to report the theft of her green Ford Explorer, said Katherine Carter, a spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's office. Investigators had been looking for the vehicle in connection with the stabbbing, Carter said. Venable, whose age and address were not immediately available, would be transported to Newark Police headquarters for processing.

Venable was charged in the death of Sha-Ron Moens, who was found with multiple stab wounds inside her apartment building Saturday, on Mount Prospect Avenue in Newark, at 12:30 p.m.

Kenny Jones, 39, said he and Moens had two sons together, after she had a daughter by another man. Jones said that he had broken off his relationship with Venable in recent weeks. He said Moens answered the door to her home Saturday, and Venable threw bleach in her face, then began stabbing her.