GUILTY NJ - Aena Hong, 25, run over & killed by jilted BF, Fort Lee, 20 Feb 2012

“One, two, three, four, five, six.” Charles Ann traced his finger on the table in a back-and-forth motion as he described how he ran over and killed his estranged girlfriend, 25-year old Aena Hong, at the intersection of Anderson Ave. and Inwood Terrace in Fort Lee on Feb. 20, 2012. In a building where crimes and even murders are discussed daily, Ann’s crime has been shocking in its violence.

Judge Christopher Kazlau sentenced Ann to 40 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the state No Early Release Act.

“We thought long about the circumstances of this case,” Kazlau said. “He could have faced life if convicted at trial. He is getting benefit of a negotiated plea, in part due to the wishes of this family.” Several members of Hong’s family, including her mother and aunt, traveled from Korea especially to attend the sentencing hearing.

Ann, 31, gave a lengthy and apparently heartfelt admission of guilt, saying he is profoundly sorry and expects to “go to hell.”

Ann pleaded guilty to first degree murder and hindering apprehension for actions he took to try to escape to Korea. Kazlau sentenced him to 40 years on the murder count and four years flat for hindering, to be served concurrently. He will be in prison at least 34 years before he is eligible for parole, and must serve five years supervised probation on release. Ann has been in custody more than five years, and has 1,358 days jail credit, or about three years and eight months, that come off his sentence.

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"This young man will spend a considerable amount of time in jail. I ask very simply that the court take into consideration the many mitigating circumstances,” Defense attorney Brian Neary said, in asking that Kazlau consider sentencing Ann to less than 40 years, the sentence he plea bargained for when he pleaded guilty in January.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer, however, said Ann’s crime was so horrible he deserved no leniency from the court. The prosecutor revealed that Ann had texted his brother Feb. 19, 2012, the day before Aena Hong’s murder, and said “I want to kill Aena.” She also said, in the aftermath of the accident, emergency workers and police found “pieces of Aena and parts of her clothing” under Ann’s Hyundai Sonata.

She said video taken from the Jack Alter Community Center, near the intersection, “Shows he had the opportunity to be a better man. He had the opportunity to ask for forgiveness of Aena.”

“It shows Charles Ann rounding a corner and stopping, before a crosswalk, deliberating waiting until she started to cross, then accelerating.

“It showed her in her pink jacket on the hood of his car, where she was ejected eight feet into the air before she landed on the ground.

“She was seriously injured, but still alive, and she begged Charles for mercy. That was his opportunity He could have put the car in park, called for help, asked one of the many horrified onlookers for help. Instead, he accelerated the vehicle and ran over her not once, not twice — but six times.

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