NEW BRUNSWICK – A Perth Amboy man charged with stabbing his wife to death in front of one of their four children will remain behind bars while awaiting trial.
As their family sat in the courtroom, Superior Court Judge Michael Toto on Friday ordered Wellington Leonardo held in jail for the alleged slaying of his wife who authorities say wanted to end their marriage.
Leonardo, 45, appeared by video from the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick and didn’t speak other than acknowledging he could hear the proceeding and occasionally wiped his eyes.
He’s been charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession on a weapon for an unlawful purpose and endangering the welfare of a child, in the early morning stabbing of Rosanna Rodriguez, just days shy of her 40 th birthday, at their Bertrand Avenue home last month.
“Murder in front of your children is utterly monstrous and what we do with monsters is we lock them up judge and this act, what he did to this woman is monstrous,” said Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Brian Shevlin.