The Murder of Ashley Bocanegra: Ambush, Plea, and Sentences

Ashley Bocanegra, a 30-year-old woman from Buford, Georgia, was beaten to death on August 11, 2022, after being lured from her apartment by two women connected to a man she had been seeing. The Ashley Bocanegra murder ended with both attackers, Antonetta Stevens and Janine Gonzalez, pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and receiving 20-year prison sentences, the statutory maximum for that offense in Georgia.

The Love Triangle Behind the Attack

Bocanegra had moved to the Atlanta area from the Bronx with her fiancé, Julian Reyes. By 2022 the two were no longer romantically involved but continued living together as co-parents in a Buford apartment complex near the 2900 block of Buford Drive. Bocanegra began an affair with Daniel González, a neighbor who was also her boss. González was in a relationship with Antonetta Stevens, 27, and was the father of Stevens’s child. According to later reporting, González led Bocanegra to believe they were in similar domestic situations, each living with a partner mainly for financial convenience.¹

The affair came apart when González confided his feelings for Bocanegra to his 17-year-old sister, Janine Gonzalez, who passed what she had learned to Stevens. Stevens directed her anger at Bocanegra rather than at González.

How the Ambush Happened

Around 1:00 p.m. on August 11, 2022, Stevens used Daniel González’s phone to impersonate him and coax Bocanegra to a spot near what was described as “the boats” at the apartment complex. When Bocanegra arrived, Stevens and Gonzalez ambushed her. Gonzalez recorded the assault on video, and during the beating Stevens was heard shouting “I will murder you.”¹

Investigators determined the fatal blow came from Gonzalez, who delivered a forceful kick to Bocanegra’s midsection that ruptured her adrenal gland.¹ The two women also stole Bocanegra’s cellphone during the attack.² Julian Reyes found Bocanegra injured and rushed her to the hospital, where she died from her injuries later that day.

Arrests

Gwinnett County homicide detectives traced the attack to the apartment complex and located Stevens and Gonzalez at their residence, where both were questioned and arrested. By August 15, 2022, each was being held in the Gwinnett County Jail without bond.³

Detectives identified Daniel González as the central figure in the romantic conflict that drove the attack, but the available record does not indicate he was charged with any crime or formally named as a witness.²

From Felony Murder to a Voluntary Manslaughter Plea

Stevens and Gonzalez were initially charged with felony murder, aggravated battery, and robbery.² Under Georgia law, felony murder applies when a death occurs during the commission of another felony and carries a minimum sentence of life in prison.⁴ The robbery count was tied to the theft of Bocanegra’s cellphone during the beating.

Instead of going to trial, both defendants pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Under Georgia Code § 16-5-2, voluntary manslaughter applies when a killing that would otherwise be murder occurs “solely as the result of a sudden, violent, and irresistible passion resulting from serious provocation.”⁵ The offense carries a sentencing range of one to 20 years, far less than the life sentence mandated for felony murder.⁴

The Sentences

Stevens and Gonzalez were each sentenced to 20 years in prison, the statutory maximum for voluntary manslaughter in Georgia.¹ Gonzalez was 17 at the time of the attack, but the available records do not indicate she received any separate juvenile-court consideration; she was charged and processed alongside her adult co-defendant.³

1
Archive.org. True Crime News Segment on Ashley Bocanegra Case
2
Gwinnett County Government. Fight Leads to Woman’s Death
3
Macon Telegraph. Two Women Charged After Fatal Beating in Buford
4
Georgia Legal Aid. Crimes and Penalties in Georgia
5
Justia. Georgia Code § 16-5-2 – Voluntary Manslaughter