Ex-con boyfriend charged in murder of NYC mom found dead in bed: cops

The ex-con, live-in boyfriend of a Bronx mom found slain in her bed has been charged with her murder, officials said — as investigators revealed she was strangled with a wire or cord.

Jeremy Cortorreal, 33, was arrested Thursday and charged with murder, manslaughter and assault in connection to the death of mom of eight Lissette Gomez, 38 — who was found dead in her bed inside her apartment on Cauldwell Avenue near Westchester Avenue on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Police found serious wounds on Gomez’s face and neck, and the medical examiner’s office determined she died of asphyxiation with a possible wire or cord, authorities said.

Her death was ruled a homicide.

An extension cord was recovered from the scene, but it’s unclear whether that was the instrument used to choke her or if another item was used, cops said.

Gomez’s sister, Carmen Torres, 44, who also lives in the Bronx, told The Post Thursday she is “feeling destroyed” over her sister’s death.

“[The boyfriend is] terrible, I told my sister about him, and she still didn’t listen,” Torres said outside the building. “Love is blind.”

“Right now my heart is just heavy, but I’m trying to be strong because I’m the only one out here for her. My parents are in Florida because they don’t have the funds to travel.”

Torres described her sister as “beautiful” and “kind.”

“She had a big heart,” the grieving woman said. “She would give you anything she had. She was a wonderful person.”

The last time the two sisters saw each other last week, Gomez “had bruises on her face, on her legs, on her arms, everywhere,” Torres added.

Neighbors say Gomez, who had eight kids, lived with her two youngest until they were removed from the home earlier this year because of domestic violence concerns.

One neighbor who declined to give her name said Gomez started seeing her boyfriend in late September or early October, and the children were removed in January.

“She met him, and the next week he was living there,” the neighbor said. “I told her, ‘What the f–k did you do?’ He be a mad problem. Domestic violence. These girls need to get away after the first time.”

Neighbor Nini Rodriguez, 59 — who knew Gomez for about 10 years — said the slain woman had been turning her life around after years of battling drug addiction but had recently fallen into a relationship with a “very abusive” man.

“Everybody used to see him beating her up,” Rodriguez said. “She was always with [a] marked-up face, black and blue, and she would tell people that he was abusive.”

“She was involved with the wrong person,” she added. “Before that person came into her life, she was a great person. She was always happy, sweet with everybody, kind-hearted, always wanted to help out.”

“We knew she was in danger with the boyfriend she had, and we kept telling her that she had to get rid of the boyfriend, but she wouldn’t get rid of the boyfriend, so look what happened.”

The NYPD confirmed that police responded to one prior domestic incident between the couple, earlier this year.

Cortorreal was held without bail at his Friday night arraignment at Bronx criminal court.

Assistant District Attorney Kanelya Arima told the judge at the hearing that surveillance video from the day of Gomez’s murder placed Cortorreal at the scene.

“Surveillance footage shows the defendant and victim arriving at their apartment together. The victim never left,” she said.

“The defendant is the only person on video coming and going from the apartment until he was discovered in the bedroom, packing a bag, while the victim lay dead on the bed with a laceration to her face and bruising and ligature marks to her neck.”

Cortorreal then fled to his mother’s apartment in the building next door, where he changed his clothes before he was taken into custody when he went back outside, Arima alleged.

“The defendant ultimately confessed to putting his hand on his girlfriend, causing her to lose consciousness and that he knew she was dead when he left and chose not to call 911,” she said.

Cortorreal has eight prior arrests, including busts for burglary, criminal possession of stolen property and drug possession, authorities said.

He was released on parole in 2020 in connection to burglary and bail-jumping convictions, state correction records show.

His parole expired in 2021, but he is on post-release supervision until 2024, according to the records.

Cortorreal’s next court appearance is scheduled for March 28.