Suffolk D.A.: Shirley man pleads guilty to killing girlfriend

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced on Nov. 20 that Oscar Morocho-Morocho, 32, of Shirley, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter after admitting to beating his girlfriend, 34-year-old Ruth Para-Martinez, to death.

“The brutal beating of Ms. Para-Martinez by this defendant was horrifying,” said District Attorney Tierney. “We take all such domestic violence seriously. We hope this disposition will give Ms. Para-Martinez’s friends and loved ones a small measure of justice.”

According to the investigation and the defendant’s statements during his plea allocution, on the evening of May 7, 2023, Morocho-Morocho became angry with his girlfriend, Para-Martinez, and began to publicly and violently beat her in a commercial area of Shirley. Surveillance video from a local business allegedly captured Morocho-Morocho punching, kicking, and dragging Para- Martinez. The following morning at approximately 6:00 a.m., Para-Martinez was found deceased by members of the Suffolk County Police Department, in the same location where she was beaten.

On November 20, 2023, Morocho-Morocho pleaded guilty to the top charge of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable John B. Collins.

Morocho-Morocho is due back in court on December 21, 2023. Morocho-Morocho is being represented by Jason Bassett, Esq.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Francis X. Schroeder of the Homicide Bureau and Scott Romano of the Major Crime Bureau with lead investigative assistance from Detective Jim Hughes of the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad.