SOMERVILLE, N.J. (Somerset County) — A 55-year-old Somerville man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, who was found with multiple lacerations at their Brookside Avenue home last week, authorities said.
Ignacio Espinal was arrested Tuesday, Aug. 11, in West New York without incident in connection with the death of his 46-year-old wife, Alyne Espinal, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
Somerville police responded to a 911 call at about 7:26 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, reporting concerns about the welfare of a woman living on Brookside Avenue, authorities said.
Officers found Alyne Espinal with multiple lacerations to her chest, neck and thigh. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Detectives from the Somerville Police Department and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit and Crime Scene Investigations Unit responded to investigate. Medical investigators from the New Jersey Northern Regional Medical Examiner’s Office also responded.
A subsequent autopsy determined Alyne Espinal’s death was a homicide, authorities said.
Following the investigation, Ignacio Espinal was arrested in West New York and taken to the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office for processing.
Espinal was charged with first-degree murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and third-degree hindering, according to authorities.
He was taken to the Somerset County Jail pending a detention hearing.
McDonald credited the Union City, West New York, Paterson and New York City police departments, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and several FBI units with assisting in the investigation.
Authorities asked anyone with information about the case to contact the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100 or Somerville police at 908-725-0331.
Anonymous information can also be submitted through the STOPit app using access code SOMERSETNJ or through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers tip line at 1-888-577-TIPS (8477).
