Three South American nationals pleaded guilty to killing a homeless man who was originally from El Salvador. The trio beat, strangled and stabbed the victim before he died.
On February 18, 2025, Suffolk County Police discovered the body of 39-year-old Candido Guadalupe Saravia Martinez in a tent on the side of Suffolk Avenue, just east of Carleton Avenue in Central Islip. Saravia Martinez was discovered with a rope around his neck, under which ligature marks were visible.
Police further observed that Saravia Martinez had blunt force trauma to his face and body, and a stab wound to his neck. Each of the defendants — Brayan Heredia Escobar, 20, of Guatemala, Jhon Lopez Campos, 18, of El Salvador, and Julio Beltran, 40, of El Salvador — as well as the victim, had been living undomiciled in Central Islip.
Inside the tent, police recovered a machete and a knife covered in blood, lying on top of the decedent’s neck. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner later determined that Saravia Martinez died of a combination of blunt force trauma, strangulation, and a stab wound to the neck.
Video surveillance was obtained from several businesses on Suffolk Avenue, including a business located directly across the street from where Saravia Martinez’s body was found. The extensive surveillance depicted the three defendants running from the tent after the incident and entering a laundromat.
Lopez Campo and Beltran admitted to holding Saravia Martinez down while Lopez Campo repeatedly struck him about the body with the handle of a machete. Lopez Campo then handed a knife to Heredia Escobar and directed him to stab Saravia Martinez. The defendants admittedly attacked Saravia Martinez as revenge from an alleged prior altercation months earlier.
On January 7, 2026, Lopez Campo pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins. Lopez Campo faces a sentence of 25 years in prison and is due back in court on February 25, 2026.
On January 8, 2026, Heredia Escobar pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Collins. Heredia Escobar faces a sentence of 20 years in prison and is due back in court on February 26, 2026.
On January 14, 2026, Beltran pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Collins. Beltran faces a sentence of 22 years in prison and is due back in court on February 23, 2026.
“These defendants brutally beat and stabbed a defenseless man, leaving him to die in a tent on the side of the road,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “While nothing can undo this senseless act of violence, these guilty pleas ensure that justice has been served, and these individuals will be held accountable with significant sentences totaling decades in prison.”