Suspect held in sex choking case posted naked image of 'lifeless' victim on Snapchat
HACKENSACK — Moments after accidentally choking 19-year old Francis Garcia to death while having sex, Michael Gaffney's instinct was to post a naked photo of her unconscious body on Snapchat, a judge said in state Superior Court on Wednesday.
Gaffney would eventually seek help from friends, who called an ambulance. But first the 21-year-old snapped a picture of Garcia's body as she lay still in the back seat of her car on Nov. 2, Judge Margaret Foti said at the hearing.
"Just [expletive] this bitch. She passed out. I don't know what to do," the Maywood man wrote in the post, according to Foti.
The judge ordered Gaffney held in jail after the hearing at the Bergen County Courthouse, citing his allegedly callous reaction as well as a past history of alcohol and drug use.
"I do find it curious that when a woman's body goes lifeless or still, he takes a naked picture and posts it to 30 people," she said.
Gaffney faces a charge of reckless manslaughter, a second-degree crime, for allegedly choking Garcia to death while the two had sex in the woman's car outside a party in Hackensack. He has insisted that Garcia asked to be choked, according to police records.
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Foti nonetheless deemed Gaffney a danger to the community in light of his drug and alcohol use that night and struggles that led to his prior participation in a drug abuse program.
Defense attorney Adam Lustberg pleaded for leniency, citing a lack of any prior arrests and a letter to the court from Gaffney's father stating that his son would stay at home under supervision. Lustberg said his client could submit to regular testing through the course of the impending case to mitigate any concerns that he would use drugs or alcohol while on release.
Gaffney gave a statement to police, in which he first acknowledged he had his hands on Garcia's neck, his attorney said. Gaffney also stayed with Garcia until the ambulance arrived, according to Lustberg.
"He cooperated far more than most defendants who come through this courtroom," Lustberg said.
Before the hearing, family members of both the defendant and the victim filled the courtroom. One relative of Garcia's wore a shirt emblazoned with her picture and the words "in loving memory," as she linked hands with others awaiting Gaffney's entrance.
After Foti rendered her decision, Gaffney began to cry as he was led out of court and into the hallway by sheriff's officers. He was followed by a throng of family members in tears who called after him yelling, "I love you, Mike."
The ruling came after the judge halted a hearing Tuesday afternoon to review a four-hour statement Gaffney gave to police at 5 a.m. on Nov. 2, immediately after Garcia's death.
In that statement, Gaffney admitted to drinking about five vodka drinks and ingesting about six milligrams of Xanax, or its generic form alprazolam, said Lustberg.
Lustberg said he intends to appeal Foti's decision. He has seven days to file a challenge with the court.
According to an affidavit, Garcia took Gaffney to a gathering of friends at an apartment in Hackensack on the night of Nov. 1. The defendant told police he and Garcia met through mutual friends and had communicated on Instagram before meeting to attend the party that night.
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At some point that evening, they left the party and went to her car alone and engaged in sexual intercourse for about 20 minutes, Gaffney told officers.
He then returned to the apartment and announced that Garcia was no longer breathing. A friend followed him back to the car and inspected Garcia, later telling police her lips were blue but that he could feel breaths coming from her nostrils.
Hackensack police received a 911 call at about 2:15 a.m. and responded to the scene. Garcia was transported to Hackensack University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The Bergen County medical examiner determined that depression of the neck "by another person" was the cause of death.
Nicholas Katzban is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: katzban@northjersey.com Twitter: @nicholaskatzban