Pennsylvania Man Sentenced for Killing Couple, Throwing Baby Into Pond After Woman Refused to Leave Husband

A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to three consecutive life sentences in prison for the killings of his girlfriend, her husband, and their one-year-old son in a case that shocked the community.

Jose Luis Rodriguez killed Geraldina Peguero-Mancebo and her husband, Junior Cabrera-Colon, after she refused to divorce him. He then threw their one-year-old son, Jeyden, into a pond while the child was still alive and later pretended to help the family search for them.

“Everyone thought he was helping us until we found out a few days later that it was him,” said Heinel Medrano, Peguero-Mancebo’s cousin. “The baby got the worst of it.”

Rodriguez, 61, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

“We’re grateful because it’s not a relief, but the closing of a chapter. Breathing the same air as him was so difficult,” Medrano told WFMZ.

According to the Berks County District Attorney's Office, on September 13, 2025, at about 6:30 a.m., City of Reading police discovered the body of Cabrera-Colon in brush along River Road. He had been shot in the head.

On September 19, 2025, at about 8:15 p.m., Peguero-Mancebo and her one-year-old son were found in a wooded area off East Huller Lane in Ontelaunee Township.

Authorities said both had also been murdered. “The case was investigated by Berks County Detective David Lehman and City of Reading Police Department CI Katelyn Super. The case was prosecuted by ADA Charles Prutzman,” the district attorney's office said in a statement on Facebook.

Rodriguez told investigators he picked up Peguero-Mancebo and her son, co-signed her apartment lease, and killed her inside his car before throwing the child into a pond.

An autopsy found mud in the boy’s lungs, indicating he was alive at the time he was submerged, police said. Rodriguez said he shot Peguero-Mancebo “because she didn’t want to leave her husband.”

“I don’t think we can express in words the tragedy and the horrific circumstances of that child’s death,” said Berks County District Attorney John Adams at sentencing. “That child was thrown into an algae-laden pond and left there to die.”

Rodriguez told investigators he did not take the child to a hospital or police station out of fear of being caught.

Rodriguez said he killed Cabrera-Colon and dumped his body along River Road after getting into a fight with him the following day. He later led authorities to the 9 mm handgun used in the killings, which he had hidden at another person’s home.

He was arrested and charged with three counts of murder on September 19, 2025.

The family set up a GoFundMe page, writing, “With broken hearts, we share the most painful tragedy our family has faced.”

“Geraldina Peguero, her husband Junior Cabrera, and their baby Jeyden were murdered. They leave behind three orphaned children, ages 13, 10, and 8, who are currently studying in the Dominican Republic and now must face life without their parents.”

“Our mission is twofold: to repatriate the bodies for a dignified burial in the Dominican Republic, and to support the children’s education and daily needs,” the family said.