James Ray III and Angela Bledsoe.Photo:Courtesy of the Essex County Jail via AP, Angela Bledsoe/Facebook
Courtesy of the Essex County Jail via AP, Angela Bledsoe/Facebook
ANew Jersey lawyer, who was convicted of killing his longtime girlfriend before fleeing to Cuba five years ago, has died less than a month before he was scheduled to be sentenced, officials announced this week.
The cause and manner of death was not immediately known.
“An autopsy is pending, and our Professional Standards Bureau is conducting the investigation,” said Robert Florida, spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ray was found unconscious in his cell Sunday evening, theAssociated Pressreports, citing Jim Troisi, the vice president of the union representing jail supervisors.
According to apress releasefrom the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Ray was found guilty last month of first-degree murder and weapons offenses in connection with the death of 44-year-old Angela Bledsoe, who was killed inside her Montclair home in 2018.
He was scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 and faced 30 years to life in prison,NJ.comreports.
Ray’s original sentencing date was set for June 22, but it was moved to July 11 to allow the victim’s family to attend, Robert Florida, a spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, said in a statement to PEOPLE.
On Oct. 22, 2018, Ray shot Bledsoe in the chest, face and back, after she dropped their 6-year-old daughter at school, authorities said.
On the day of her death, Bledsoe had a meeting scheduled with a Realtor to find a place of her own; she was planning to move out of the house she shared with Ray, prosecutors said.
After the murder, Ray prepared several documents and went to a local bank, where he withdrew checks and cash, according to authorities. He picked his daughter up from school and dropped her off with his brother at a restaurant.
He then fled to Mexico, where he booked a flight to Cuba, prosecutors said. He was brought back to the U.S. on Nov. 6, 2018 and has been in custody at the Essex County Correctional Facility since then.
“This is a tragic ending to a tragic story,” said Thomas R. Ashley, one of two attorneys who represented Ray during his six-week trial, per NJ.com. The attorney added that Ray “didn’t show any emotion” when the guilty verdict was read, according to the outlet.
Ray was raised in Brooklyn and spent two years as a New York City police officer before attending law school, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. He also served in the U.S. Marines.
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A graduate of Florida A&M University, which she attended from 1993 to 1997, Bledsoe earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the School of Business and Industry,PEOPLE previously reported.
After college, she worked as an analyst with Chase Manhattan Bank and later as an associate with JPMorgan Chase. Bledsoe’s most recent job was as afinancial consultant with Securities Americain New York City, according to her professional website, which has since been taken down.
“She was a fantastic person,”Col. Gregory Clark, president of the National Alumni Associationtold theTallahassee Democratat the time.
Ray and Bledsoe’s daughter is in the care of her family members, the prosecutor’s office said.
source: people.com
