Family of NJ mom murdered in front of cop gets closure after 11 years

🔴 A New Jersey man has been sentenced to life in prison — for the second time.

🔴 The victim was shot in front of a police officer after pleading for help.

🔴 The slain teacher's daughter, now a teen, finally sees justice after years of legal battles.

EAST ORANGE — For the second time, the ex-boyfriend of a murdered New Jersey teacher has been sentenced to live the rest of his days behind bars.

Andre Higgs was sentenced to life in prison on Friday, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. It will be the next century before the 53-year-old Watchung man is eligible for parole. More likely, he will die in New Jersey State Prison.

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That's the maximum penalty that a New Jersey judge can impose on Higgs for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Latrena May, who was the mother of his child. Their daughter was only 4 years old at the time of the killing.

Finally, their now-teenage daughter and May's three sisters have the assurance that Higgs will stay in prison.

In December, Higgs was reconvicted of first-degree murder. He was also convicted of first-degree unlawful possession of a handgun by a person previously convicted of a crime, second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun, and second-degree certain persons not to have weapons.

East Orange teacher’s final moments

More than a decade has passed since Higgs attacked May on the front steps of her East Orange home. It was shortly after 10 p.m. on May 1, 2015, when the teacher at Pride Academy Charter School tried to flag down a passing police officer, prosecutors said.

On the witness stand in 2017 and again in 2025, Det. Kemon Lee testified that he saw May's cry for help and made a U-turn. He pulled up to the home on Tremont Avenue and approached the distressed pair.

Prosecutors said that May's last words were, "Officer, officer, officer." Before she could make her way down the stairs, Higgs shot her three times. The bullets pierced her lungs. As she fell to the ground, Det. Lee brought up his gun and shot at Higgs.

Higgs was shot in the legs, and he retreated inside the home where his young daughter was sleeping. Higgs was arrested after a standoff that lasted around an hour, prosecutors said.

Overturned conviction, retrial, and a second life sentence

An Essex County jury first convicted Higgs of murder and other crimes following a 2017 trial. He was sentenced to life in prison; however, that conviction was overturned on appeal.

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the Higgs' defense attorneys missed an opportunity to ask Lee on the stand about previous police-involved shootings. A new trial was ordered.

In December, Higgs was convicted again. For murder, he was sentenced to life in prison, which is 75 years. He was sentenced to a consecutive 20-year term for the weapons offenses.

READ MORE: Watchung man convicted again in NJ murder of his ex-girlfriend

"Andre Higgs has once again been sentenced to life in prison — a consequence fully warranted by his extensive and violent criminal history as well as the brutal and senseless crimes he committed on May 1, 2015," Deputy Chief Assistant Prosecutor Justin Edwab said.

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