Finally, the cloud of senseless murder and mayhem that covered Newark for the past three years has lifted with a guilty plea from a suspect in the 2007 schoolyard killing case.
The plea means no more suspicions about why the victims were at the school or the nagging possibility that some of the men charged were actually innocent of the crime.
Now it's just a matter of dotting the I's and crossing the T's on a few legal documents and locking away these perpetrators for the rest of their lives for the senseless and brutal murders of Iofemi Hightower, Dashon Harvey and Terrance Aeriel (pictured below).
The lone survivor of the attack, Natasha Aeriel, bravely testified at the trial of the first defendant, Rodolfo Godinez (pictured below), who was convicted and sentenced to 243 years in prison. Natasha Aeriel's chilling eyewitness account of the slaying was key to the conviction of Godinez, who proclaimed his innocence.
Thankfully, the case of Jovel was much different.
In a nonchalant style, Jovel told the court in Spanish how he and others lined the victims up against the wall. He said he shot each one in the head once before confronting Natasha Aeriel a few yards away. She was shot and sexually assaulted but survived to graduate from Delaware State University.
Asked why he shot the four friends, Jovel responded, "To kill them."
Jovel, who grew up in Newark and was a classmate of some of the victims, faces 214 years in prison at his November sentencing.
Jovel is in the country legally but is not a U.S. citizen.
Six people have been charged in the murders, and authorities aren't sure how Jovel's admission will affect the trials of the other four defendants who all have ties to the violent Central American street gang MS-13.
For a time during the early chapters of the investigation, questions were raised as to why the victims were at the school. Some even theorized they were taking part in a gang initiation with their killers.
Now all of those faulty theories can be put to rest, and the families of the slain don't have to endure another trial to hear how their loved ones suffered at the hands of the murderers.
Nothing will bring back the victims but at least a small part of justice will be done.
09-Sep-10 - Prominent gospel music artist Marvin Sapp recently lost his wife, MaLinda Sapp, to colon cancer. The couple had been married for 15 years and they had three children.
09-Sep-10 - Prominent gospel music artist Marvin Sapp recently lost his wife, MaLinda Sapp, to colon cancer. The couple had been married for 15 years and they had three children.
09-Sep-10 - San Jose State University student Courtney Howard said she and other pledges were warned that 'snitches get stitches' while they were punched, kicked and paddled during their initiation by four Sigma Gamma Rho sorority members.
09-Sep-10 - George Grier, who lives in Long Island, was arrested for using an AK-47 assault rifle to protect his family from gang members who were threatening to hurt them.
08-Sep-10 - Rodney King, whose senseless beating by the Los Angeles police became fodder for news outlets worldwide, became engaged to one of the jurors who awarded him a $3.8 million settlement in a civil suit against the LAPD.
03-Sep-10 - African-American males in Detroit between the ages of 15 and 24 are dying at a rate that is roughly seven times higher than the rest of the Detroit population.
02-Sep-10 - Hip-hop zillionaire 50 Cent, who is no stranger to drug arrest, offered fellow rapper T.I. and his wife, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, some advice on how to best deal with the recent felony charge that they're facing for possession of a controlled substance.
02-Sep-10 - Iconic rapper T.I., 29, and his new bride, Tameka Cottle, 35, a TV reality star, were arrested Wednesday night in West Hollywood and booked on felony possession of a controlled substance charge.
31-Aug-10 - The eldest of John McCain's four children, Meghan has now publicly revealed her feelings about Sarah Palin in her new book, 'Dirty Sexy Politics.'
27-Aug-10 - Alveda King's decision to join forces with Fox News host Glenn Beck during his bogus March on Washington is likely one of the most shocking and extraordinary political events in recent months.
