City man gets 23 years for killing ex-lover, mother of 2

TRENTON » The city man who stabbed 32-year-old Leydi Lemos-Delgado to death inside a Hamilton Township residence last year has been sentenced to 23 years of state imprisonment.

Helder Rosa, 38, of Trenton, must serve at least 85% of the sentence behind bars before he may become eligible for parole, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw ordered Wednesday afternoon.

Rosa pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, admitting he stabbed and killed Lemos-Delgado, a mother of two, inside a Hamilton Township residence on the 200 block of Steward Street May 12, 2019.

“The horrible tragedy of this case,” Warshaw said, “he could have walked away and he didn’t.”

“He got mad,” Warshaw said of Rosa. “He made an impulsive choice.”

The defendant and victim were previously lovers, but Rosa became “obsessive” when Lemos-Delgado tried to break off the relationship, according to court documents.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, the prosecution argued that Rosa’s actions were committed in an especially heinous, cruel, or depraved manner, while the defense argued the city man has a history of being a productive worker with no prior convictions.

“The court was asked to recognize just how horrible this crime has been to the children of the victim,” Warshaw said before rejecting the state’s aggravating factor argument on that point.

Although “there’s a family that will never, ever, ever be the same,” Warshaw said, “those circumstances do not allow the court to find the presence of aggravating factor No. 1.”

Warshaw found other aggravating factors, however, including the risk of Rosa committing new criminal activity and the need to deter Rosa and others from violating the law.

Rosa had “no history of criminal activity” prior to the Mother’s Day 2019 slaying, but, “I find strongly that there is risk this defendant will commit another offense,” Warshaw said.

Prior to the homicide, Rosa allegedly didn’t allow Lemos-Delgado to “leave the relationship” and repeatedly called and texted her demanding to know her whereabouts, according to court papers.

Lemos-Delgado’s two children were not home at the time of the slaying.

About 1:30 a.m. May 12, 2019, Rosa called 9-1-1 saying he had been stabbed and that his attacker was still inside the home. Police found Lemos-Delgado stabbed to death inside the township residence and found Rosa suffering from 12 stab wounds throughout his body, none of which appeared to be “defensive wounds,” court documents show.

Police later determined Rosa “stabbed Lemos-Delgado to death and stabbed himself with the same knife.”

Originally charged with murder and weapons offenses, Rosa “acknowledged his responsibility” by pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter, Warshaw said, adding he has read letters from Rosa’s inner circle portraying him as a “good father” and “good friend” who made a horrible mistake.

Rosa will be subjected to five years of parole supervision after serving his 23year prison sentence.