Fort Lee Man Sentenced to 40 Years in 2012 Cold-Blooded Run-Over Murder of Girlfriend
By Mary K. Miraglia
HACKENSACK, N.J. (March 24, 2017) — “One, two, three, four, five, six.” Charles Ann traced his finger on the table in a back-and-forth motion as he described how he ran over and killed his estranged girlfriend, 25-year old Aena Hong, at the intersection of Anderson Ave. and Inwood Terrace in Fort Lee on Feb. 20, 2012. In a building where crimes and even murders are discussed daily, Ann’s crime has been shocking in its violence.
Judge Christopher Kazlau sentenced Ann to 40 years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the state No Early Release Act.
“We thought long about the circumstances of this case,” Kazlau said. “He could have faced life if convicted at trial. He is getting benefit of a negotiated plea, in part due to the wishes of this family.” Several members of Hong’s family, including her mother and aunt, traveled from Korea especially to attend the sentencing hearing.
Ann, 31, gave a lengthy and apparently heartfelt admission of guilt, saying he is profoundly sorry and expects to “go to hell.”
He apologized profusely to Hong’s family, even while admitting nothing he can say or do will ever ease their loss.
“Even though I prostrate myself to the ground, the misery of Aena’s parents will never be relieved,” Ann said. “Please forgive me. In prison I will repent. I hope I will become a good samaritan on my road to redemption.
“I say sorry to Aena’s mother once again. I take responsibility for what I have done. I’m sorry.” Ann attributed his actions to “immaturity and jealousy” and said, “I showed no empathy for Aena or her family because I was consumed by my anger and sadness. I was immature, which lead to irrational action.
“I loved her so greatly, if I imagined a life without her it would be nothing to live for. After this incident, I cowardly failed to take my life.”
Echoing his client’s words, defense attorney Brian Neary of Hackensack and Jersey City said “Ann has a deep contrition and remorse for these acts. He bears the fullest responsibility — even to place it in a context that one does believe in an afterlife. He believes that his path leads him to hell.
“Ann weeps. This young man will spend a considerable amount of time in jail. I ask very simply that the court take into consideration the many mitigating circumstances,” Neary said, in asking that Kazlau consider sentencing Ann to less than 40 years, the sentence he plea bargained for when he pleaded guilty in January.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Grootenboer, however, said Ann’s crime was so horrible he deserved no leniency from the court. The prosecutor revealed that Ann had texted his brother Feb. 19, 2012, the day before Aena Hong’s murder, and said “I want to kill Aena.” She also said, in the aftermath of the accident, emergency workers and police found “pieces of Aena and parts of her clothing” under Ann’s Hyundai Sonata.
She said video taken from the Jack Alter Community Center, near the intersection, “Shows he had the opportunity to be a better man. He had the opportunity to ask for forgiveness of Aena.”
She said the video speaks volumes of his purpose.
“It shows Charles Ann rounding a corner and stopping, before a crosswalk, deliberating waiting until she started to cross, then accelerating.
“It showed her in her pink jacket on the hood of his car, where she was ejected eight feet into the air before she landed on the ground.
“She was seriously injured, but still alive, and she begged Charles for mercy. That was his opportunity He could have put the car in park, called for help, asked one of the many horrified onlookers for help. Instead, he accelerated the vehicle and ran over her not once, not twice — but six times.
Grootenboer said Ann crushed the life out of Hong, causing horrible, excruciating injuries including front and back broken pelvis, fractured clavicle, an open ankle fracture, and more. Fort Lee police responded to several calls from witnesses at the scene and sped Hong to Holy Name Medical Center, but she was pronounced dead shortly after her arrival.
A retired nurse who stayed at the scene with Hong until the ambulance arrived said “I just kept talking to her, I didn’t know what else to do. She was definitely very, very hurt.”
Kazlau asked Ann several questions about his mental health. Ann said he was on medication, and had been medicated at the Bergen County Jail, where he has been held on $3 million bail, since his 2012 arrest. He has a history of suicide attempts, he said, but he would not assert a defense of mental illness or defect. Kazlau pressed Ann, but he insisted he wouldn’t claim a defense.
“Are you waiving your right to claim any kind of mental illness or defect, and standing by your factual basis?” Kazlau asked. A factual basis is the testimony defendants are required to make when they plead guilty to a crime.
“Yes,” Ann said.
“How many times did you strike Ms.Hong with your car?” the judge asked.
“I remember six times,” Ann said, counting and indicating with his finger on the defense table driving back and forth.
“And did you know what you were doing?” Kazlau asked.
“Yes,” Ann replied.
Kazlau said he hopes Ann will continue to seek mental health treatment while he is in prison, because “There should have been intervention earlier in his life.”
Hong and Ann, according to the prosecutor’s statement at the time of his arrest, had a “tumultuous dating relationship.” They had dated for about a year and lived together briefly, but she moved out when she learned a boyfriend from Korea was coming to the U.S. It’s believed she was trying to finally end it when Ann killed her.
Ann pleaded guilty to first degree murder and hindering apprehension for actions he took to try to escape to Korea. Kazlau sentenced him to 40 years on the murder count and four years flat for hindering, to be served concurrently. He will be in prison at least 34 years before he is eligible for parole, and must serve five years supervised probation on release. Ann has been in custody more than five years, and has 1,358 days jail credit, or about three years and eight months, that come off his sentence.
