By Associated Press - Tuesday, March 18, 2014

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - A northern New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to charges that he killed, dismembered and transported two people that were found in bags dumped on a residential street.

Ruben Acosta, also known as Alejandro Mercedes, pleaded guilty Monday in state Superior Court in Jersey City.

The 40 year-old Union City resident has not divulged a motive in the murders of 48-year-old Maria Torres and 49-year-old Lazaro Calero. He testified in a prior court hearing that he suffers from bipolar disorder.



The Jersey Journal reports (https://bit.ly/1mfcqkd ) that Acosta admitted to strangling and dismembering the pair in their Union City home in April 2010.

Their partially decomposed bodies were found days later in bags dumped on a residential Linden street.

Acosta faces up to 60 years in prison at his May sentencing.

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Information from: The Jersey Journal (Jersey City, N.J.), https://www.nj.com/jjournal

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