New Jersey

New Jersey Man Convicted of Killing Mother of His Kids, Two Others in ‘Heinous' 2016 Triple Murder Sentenced to 190 Years

Two of the murders took place a short distance away from three children under the age of 5

What to Know

  • Man who killed three people in New Jersey during the course of two days in 2016 will spend close to 200 years in prison, prosecutors said
  • Jeffrey Holland was sentenced to 190 years for the murders of Tiniquah Rouse, 21, Ashley Jones, 23, and Jarrell Marshall, 28
  • The presiding judge said Holland would also be subject to 5 years of parole supervision - if he survives his sentence

A 30-year-old man who killed three people in New Jersey during the course of two days in 2016, in what was described as "the most depraved, heinous and cruel" of crimes, will spend close to 200 years in prison, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens, II said Jeffrey Holland, of East Orange, was sentenced to 190 years in New Jersey State Prison for the murders of Tiniquah Rouse, 21, Ashley Jones, 23, and Jarrell Marshall, 28.

The victims, all residents of Newark, were killed over the course of two days in January 2016.

Presiding Judge Ronald D. Wigler said the crimes committed by Holland “were the most depraved, heinous and cruel” that the judge has presided over during tenure on the bench.

Holland was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years for each murder and another 10 for being a convicted felon with a weapon.

Under the No Early Release Act and the Graves Act, Holland must serve 158 years before he is eligible for parole.

“If you happen to survive, you will be then subject to 5 years of parole supervision," Judge Wigler told Holland in court. 

On Dec. 12, 2018 Holland was found guilty of 18 counts, including three counts of murder, desecration of human remains, hindering, felony murder, burglary, theft, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, multiple counts of endangering the welfare of a child and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.

The conviction stems from a series of crimes that started on Jan. 29, 2016 in which prosecutors say Holland strangled and drowned Rouse with whom he had a romantic relationship, prosecutors say. He then put her five-month-old baby boy in the apartment closet, covered him with clothes, and left the apartment. Rouse was found in her apartment bathroom deceased. The baby was discovered unharmed.

The next day, according to prosecutors, Holland went to Jones’ apartment where he kicked in the apartment door and fatally shot Jones and Marshall just a short distance away from three children ages one, three, and four.

Jones and Holland previously dated but had broken up, prosecutors say, adding they were the parents of two of the children— the one year old and the four year old — who were present during the murder of Jones and Marshall.

Prosecutors say that Jones and Marshall recently started dating at the time of their murder and the three-year-old child was Marshall’s daughter from another relationship.

“The sheer depravity and violence that occurred in this case is incomprehensible. This defendant brutally killed three innocent people and in the case of Rouse desecrated her body. His crimes are even more cruel because they were carried out in the presence of very young children, including two of his own children.’’ assistant prosecutor Justin Edwab, who tried the case, said in a statement.

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