By: Richard L. Smith
A former Hudson County corrections officer will serve 50 years in state prison for the fatal 2021 shootings of his girlfriend and her friend, according to a statement issued by Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II.
John Menendez, 27, of West New York, was sentenced on Tuesday, July 22, by Superior Court Judge Ronald D. Wigler. The sentence follows Menendez’s guilty plea to two counts of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the deaths of 40-year-old Anna Shpilberg of Randolph and 40-year-old Luiza Shinkarevskaya of Newark.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred on February 16, 2021, when Menendez picked up the two women from Newark Liberty International Airport after they returned from a trip to Mexico.
He then drove them to a nearby off-airport parking lot, where he fatally shot Shpilberg in the head and shot Shinkarevskaya four times. Both women died from their injuries.
Menendez later turned himself in and confessed to the killings.
During court proceedings, he claimed that excessive use of anabolic steroids had impaired his judgment, but prosecutors presented evidence, including text messages, that showed he had become increasingly angry and jealous in the days leading up to the incident.
“This was a senseless act of domestic violence that resulted in the tragic death of two women,” said Assistant Prosecutor Austin Edwards.
“We hope this sentence provides closure to Anna and Luiza’s families and sends a clear message that illegal steroid use is not an excuse for violence.”
Under the terms of his sentencing, Menendez received 25 years for each count of aggravated manslaughter, to be served consecutively.
Because the crimes fall under New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, he must serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole.