GREENBELT, MARYLAND — Kiany DeJesus delivered a victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing for Juan Miguel Roman-Balderas in Upper Marlboro. Roman-Balderas pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February and received the maximum sentence under a plea agreement.
Roman-Balderas killed Emilia Ignacio in Greenbelt, Maryland, in April 2014. Her body was later recovered from her vehicle. He stabbed Ignacio 27 times and had taken her to a Red Lobster restaurant before the killing. Roman-Balderas fled to Mexico using a one-way ticket purchased before the incident and resided there for over a decade, where he started a new family.
DeJesus, Ignacio's daughter, used social media to locate Roman-Balderas in Mexico. She credited the Instagram account Crime Time Tea Time with helping raise awareness of the case. "Without her, we wouldn't have been able to get the ball rolling at all. We tried. We pushed a lot, and she was the only person to respond to us, and as soon as we started connecting with her, everything started falling into order," DeJesus said.
During the sentencing, DeJesus testified that Roman-Balderas had burned her hand on a stove when she was a child and had also abused the family dog. DeJesus had not seen Roman-Balderas since her childhood leading up to the sentencing. Roman-Balderas did not make a statement during the hearing. His attorney requested a 20-year sentence, citing his client's acceptance of responsibility and lack of prior criminal record. The judge presiding over the case stated that Roman-Balderas tortured Ignacio.
DeJesus expressed her satisfaction with making the statement. "I knew that if I didn't get it out, I would probably regret it, so I'm glad that I did this and I'm glad that he got to hear it from my words too. It makes me really happy to finally get to close all of this," DeJesus said. DeJesus also stated that the judge told her she was proud of her, which made her feel that her efforts were for a good outcome. DeJesus is now considering a career as a lawyer or detective.