Man Charged With Murdering Woman After Police Drop Charges Against Her Ex-Boyfriend

Bergen County, New Jersey detectives have arrested a man in connection with his girlfriend’s murder after police initially suspected her ex-boyfriend.

As NewJersey.com reports, 35-year-old Nile Diakos has been charged with murder, weapons possession, and hindering his own apprehension. Diakos allegedly stabbed and killed 35-year-old Alicia A. Arnone, whom he was dating, on March 26. He then fled the scene and reported the murder himself, which led police to arrest Arnone’s 38-year-old ex-boyfriend, Andrae Daniels. According to police, Arnone’s body was discovered in a pool of blood by her 13-year-old daughter.

Daniels had been in custody until Wednesday this week, NorthJersey.com reported. The charges against him have since been dropped, with police citing phone recordings that feature Diakos confessing to murder. Two eyewitnesses initially gave statements that led police to believe Daniels was the killer, but one has since recanted their story.

When police arrived at the scene of the murder last month, Diakos was still present and informed officers he had just arrived there, too. In the phone call that cast doubt on the eyewitness statements, Diakos also admitted he fled the scene after he heard Arnone’s daughter was still at the house. Police said the daughter, who has not been named because she’s a juvenile, was woken up by her mother’s screams and claimed she saw her bleeding “profusely” with Daniels standing next to her. It is unclear if the daughter is the eyewitness who recanted their story.

“Confronted with evidence developed during the investigation, one of the eyewitnesses recanted the identification," said BErgen County prosecutor Mark Musella.