Man hurled baby into 'algae-laden' pond, executed the child's parents because mother 'did not want to leave her husband' for him

A Pennsylvania antheral has admitted to hurling a 1-year-old lad into a pond, sidesplitting him, aft executing the child's parent due to the fact that she "did not privation to permission her husband" for him. The antheral murdered the hubby a time aboriginal and past allegedly contacted the mother's household and pretended to beryllium a disquieted friend.

"Everyone thought helium was helping america until we recovered retired a fewer days aboriginal that it was him," Heinel Medrano, relative of the slain mother, Geraldina Peguero-Mancebo — who was murdered successful September 2025 on with her husband, Junior Cabrera-Colon, and lad Jeyden — told section TV presumption WFMZ aft their killer, Jose Luis Rodriguez, was sentenced Tuesday.

"The babe got the worst of it," Medrano said.

Rodriguez, 61, entered a blameworthy plea for first-degree execution and was sentenced to 3 consecutive beingness sentences without the anticipation of parole.

"We're grateful due to the fact that it's not a relief, but the closing of a chapter," Medrano told WFMZ. "Breathing the aforesaid aerial arsenic him was truthful difficult."

As previously reported by Law&Crime, prosecutors and constabulary accused Rodriguez of shooting Peguero-Mancebo successful the caput archetypal "because she did not privation to permission her husband." The parent and her lad were picked up by Rodriguez, who was successful a narration with Peguero-Mancebo and besides cosigned her flat lease, earlier the slaying occurred wrong his car.

Rodriguez dumped Peguero-Mancebo's assemblage and past drove Jeyden to an country successful Ontelaunee Township, wherever helium threw the lad into the pond. An autopsy showed that mud was contiguous successful the boy's lungs, indicating that helium was "alive astatine the clip of submersion," according to police.

"I don't deliberation we tin explicit successful words the calamity and the horrific circumstances of that child's death," said Berks County District Attorney John Adams astatine Rodriguez's sentencing, according to WFMZ. "That kid was thrown into an algae laden pond and near determination to die," Adams said.

Rodriguez told investigators helium decided against dropping Jeyden disconnected astatine a infirmary oregon constabulary presumption "for fearfulness of getting caught." After throwing the lad into the pond, Rodriguez got into an altercation with Cabrera-Colon a time aboriginal successful Reading and changeable him to death. His assemblage was recovered successful a wooded country adjacent immoderate hoops courts successful Baer Park.

Police arrested and charged Rodriguez with 3 counts of execution connected Sept. 19, 2025. He directed investigators to the 9 mm handgun helium utilized successful the killings, which helium had stashed astatine idiosyncratic else's location nether their porch.

A GoFundMe page, which was launched past twelvemonth to rise wealth to person Peguero-Mancebo and Cabrera-Colon's bodies returned to their autochthonal Dominican Republic, said the mates besides shared 3 different children, ages 8, 10, and 13 years old.

"There's nary punishment that could ever equalize the symptom helium has caused," Adams told the tribunal Tuesday astir Rodriguez. "He volition ne'er spot the airy of time and hopefully, this volition bring immoderate closure to the household and to anyone who knew immoderate of the victims."

Jamie Frevele contributed to this report.