NEW YORK – The woman convicted of luring five young men into a Long Island park there they were attacked by MS-13 gang members, who killed four of themwas sentenced to 50 years in prison Tuesday.
The brutal 2017 attack shocked Central Islip and the nation.
Leniz Escobar, 24, also known as “The little devilor “Little Devil,” was convicted in April 2022 in connection with the murders of Justin Llivicura, Michael Lopez, Jorge Tigre and Jefferson Villalobos. The victims were between the ages of 16 and 20. She was sentenced Tuesday.
Escobar was accused of luring them into the park to smoke marijuana. Once they got there, gang members surrounded and attacked them with machetes, knives, an ax and clubs.
CBS New York
One managed to run away. The other four were killed.
Prosecutors say they were attacked because MS-13 gang members believed they were “members of a rival gang, at least two of whom had disrespected MS-13 by posting pictures on social media.”
Escobar bragged about the attack, prosecutors say
Prosecutors say Escobar bragged to other MS-13 members about her role in the killings after the attack.
“The defendant demonstrated his loyalty to the MS-13 gang by luring four young men to their slaughter,” said United States Attorney Breon Peace. “It is my hope that the justice meted out today will bring some comfort to those who have lost loved ones to this senseless gang violence.”
“Her subsequent boasting of her inhumane trap to ranking members exemplifies Escobar’s perverse prioritization of gang status over human life. May today’s sentencing bring some justice to the victims’ families,” said FBI Deputy Director Dennehy.
More than a dozen MS-13 gang members and associates have since been charged in connection with the attack. Escobar is the fifth person to be convicted.