NJ man sentenced to 375 years for killing 2 children, college student over Facebook post

By 

Patrick Reilly

April 12, 2022 1:51am 

 Updated

NJ man sentenced to 375 years for killing 2 children, college student over Facebook post

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A New Jersey man was sentenced on Friday to 375 years in prison for brutally murdering two children and a college student in 2016 when he became enraged over a Facebook post, officials said.

Judge Ronald D. Wigler sentenced Jeremy Arrington, 31, to three consecutive life sentences for killing 7-year-old Ariel Little Whitehurst, her 11-year-old brother Al-Jahon Whitehurst, as well as fatally shooting Syasia McBurroughs, a 23-year-old friend of the family who was visiting their Newark home in November 2016.

Arrington was convicted last month in Essex County on 28 charges related to the home invasion in which he bound and tortured six people, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office said.

The murdered children’s mother, 29, and two 13-year-old twins — a boy and a girl — were stabbed but survived.

Jeremy Arrington, 31, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms for the murders.

Jeremy Arrington killed Al-Jahon Whitehurst, 11, and Aerial Little Whitehurst, 7, during a home invasion in November 2016.

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The judge slapped additional consecutive 50-year sentences on the killer for each of the three attempted murder convictions for the surviving victims.

Arrington would have to serve a total of 281 years of his 375-year sentence before he is eligible for parole.

Prosecutors said Arrington was outraged by one of of the stabbing victims, who had reposted a police alert on Facebook that named him as a suspect in an earlier shooting and sexual assault.

Arrington forced his way into the Whitehurst residence in broad daylight with a loaded gun and tied up all of the residents and tortured them with kitchen knives, prosecutors said. A young girl with autism, a friend of the family who was also visiting, managed to escape and called police while hiding in a closet.

Syasia McBorroughs, the 23-year-old who was fatally shot by Arrington, was a college student who had been visiting the family.

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Arrington was arrested the same day after a standoff with police.

“This defendant is pure evil and clearly deserves all 375 years in New Jersey State Prison for the terrible crimes he committed on Nov. 5, 2016,” Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab said in a statement after the sentencing. 

“These families have waited over five years for this moment, and we are all so grateful for this sentence. Thank you to all those who helped bring this defendant to justice and thank you to the jury for holding this defendant accountable.”