Clifton man admits he strangled woman in Paterson

BY JOHN PETRICK

The Record

STAFF WRITER

A 27-year-old Clifton man pleaded guilty in state court Tuesday to aggravated manslaughter in the strangulation of a 35-year-old woman in a Paterson alleyway in 2006.

Mustafa Ali entered his plea before state Superior Court Judge Marilyn C. Clark in Paterson and faces 25 years in state prison as part of his plea agreement. He will have to serve five years of parole upon his release. Sentencing before Clark is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Ali – speaking loudly and clearly – gave a brief account in court of what happened, saying he came upon victim Carolyn Cooper on the street about 3 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2006. He noted he had never met her before.

“She started asking me for money. I was under the influence of alcohol at the time,” he told Clark, Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Latoracca and defense attorney Harley Breite of Wayne.

“She began to speak to me. I felt slightly provoked. She started to yell. I told her to be quiet.”

Things escalated from there until he proceeded to strangle her, he said. Upon further questioning by Clark, Ali said that although he was intoxicated on “about three or four beers,” he knew what he was doing and that there was a good probability that he had caused Cooper’s death.

Ali was found by police standing over Cooper’s naked body in an alleyway near 51 Haledon Ave. after responding to calls reporting a woman screaming, according to authorities. He fled on foot but was apprehended about a block away, authorities said.

Ali’s indictment had charged him with murder as well as attempted sexual assault. The count stemmed from a witness’s account — as viewed from a nearby window — that it appeared Ali had taken the victim’s dress off at some point during the altercation. Authorities said there was no evidence the victim was raped.

The plea was attended by Cooper’s brother and brother-in-law, who said afterward that, shortly before she was killed, Cooper had moved to Paterson from Jersey City.

“She was a beautiful person. She wouldn’t have hurt a fly,” said Robert Cooper of Jersey City, the victim’s brother. “This took a long time, but I’m satisfied that he finally took responsibility.”

E-mail: petrick@northjersey.com

A 27-year-old Clifton man pleaded guilty in state court Tuesday to aggravated manslaughter in the strangulation of a 35-year-old woman in a Paterson alleyway in 2006.

Mustafa Ali entered his plea before state Superior Court Judge Marilyn C. Clark in Paterson and faces 25 years in state prison as part of his plea agreement. He will have to serve five years of parole upon his release. Sentencing before Clark is scheduled for Feb. 26.

Ali – speaking loudly and clearly – gave a brief account in court of what happened, saying he came upon victim Carolyn Cooper on the street about 3 a.m. on Aug. 9, 2006. He noted he had never met her before.

“She started asking me for money. I was under the influence of alcohol at the time,” he told Clark, Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor John Latoracca and defense attorney Harley Breite of Wayne.

“She began to speak to me. I felt slightly provoked. She started to yell. I told her to be quiet.”

Things escalated from there until he proceeded to strangle her, he said. Upon further questioning by Clark, Ali said that although he was intoxicated on “about three or four beers,” he knew what he was doing and that there was a good probability that he had caused Cooper’s death.

Ali was found by police standing over Cooper’s naked body in an alleyway near 51 Haledon Ave. after responding to calls reporting a woman screaming, according to authorities. He fled on foot but was apprehended about a block away, authorities said.

Ali’s indictment had charged him with murder as well as attempted sexual assault. The count stemmed from a witness’s account — as viewed from a nearby window — that it appeared Ali had taken the victim’s dress off at some point during the altercation. Authorities said there was no evidence the victim was raped.

The plea was attended by Cooper’s brother and brother-in-law, who said afterward that, shortly before she was killed, Cooper had moved to Paterson from Jersey City.

“She was a beautiful person. She wouldn’t have hurt a fly,” said Robert Cooper of Jersey City, the victim’s brother. “This took a long time, but I’m satisfied that he finally took responsibility.”