A Jefferson Parish judge on Monday (Jan. 6) sentenced Irwin Gomez-Colon to a mandatory life sentence in prison for brutally stabbing and strangling a woman to death in her Terrytown apartment after raping her.
Gomez-Colon, 34, a native of Honduras, was convicted as charged of the second-degree murder of Nancy Yahaira Gomez Rodriguez, 33, a mother of two sons who died April 22, 2017, in the 2100 block of Empire Place.
She had been stabbed 24 times in her back and was strangled, according to evidence presented at trial. Gomez-Colon’s DNA obtained from his blood and a condom found at the scene linked him to the crime. A jury unanimously found him guilty on Dec. 5.
Through a letter written as impact testimony and read aloud in court Monday, Rodriguez’s family said she immigrated from the Dominican Republic in 2004 in search of a better life in the United States. She had a son who lived with her in Terrytown and an older son who lives in the Dominican Republic, the family said.
After denying a defense motion for a new trial, Judge Frank Brindisi of the 24th Judicial District Court called Gomez-Colon’s actions “horrendous.” Speaking through an interpreter, Gomez-Colon protested the conviction, saying he is innocent.
Judge Brindisi said the evidence shows otherwise and sentenced Gomez-Colon to life in prison at hard labor without parole, probation or suspension of sentence. “Mr. Colon, good luck. You’re going where you need to be,” Judge Brindisi said.
Assistant District Attorneys Rachel Africk and Joshua Vanderhooft prosecuted the case.
