MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. — A jury deliberated for just two hours on Friday before finding a Montgomery Village man guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his wife in 2019. It is believed Jean J. Pierre, 50, stabbed and killed his wife, 41-year-old Nerlande Foreste on Aug. 21, 2019.
After a five day trial, a jury found that Pierre, a survivor of the earthquake in Haiti, stabbed and killed Foreste inside of their home in the 20000 block of Rothbury Lane in Montgomery Village before placing her body in a shipping container and carrying it out to a dumpster. Foreste's remains have still not been found.
Pierre confessed to stabbing his wife and disposing of her body in a dumpster after initially reporting his wife missing, according to charging court documents.
"Several times during the interview, Pierre stated his wife was gone and he wasn't coming back," according to court documents. "Pierre continued that we wouldn't find her body...[and] admitted to stabbing his wife, Foreste, and taking her body to the dumpster."
Pierre came to the US with his daughter after the rest of their family was crushed inside their home in the 2010 Haitian earthquake disaster.
Pierre’s surviving daughter spent at least three days buried in rubble with her dead mother and sister nearby.
The couple, with Pierre’s daughter, settled in The Rothbury apartment complex in Montgomery Villiage, where they were active in a church and where the girl thrived in school, according to family friends who do not want their names revealed publicly.
Foreste worked as a registered nurse. Pierre was a nursing assistant working with Alzheimer’s patients, the friends said.
Foreste was a dedicated stepmother to Pierre’s daughter and their bond was close, according to friends.
The daughter played a significant role in the investigation, according to court documents. At one point she independently contacted Montgomery County Police to report her stepmother missing.
She also told detectives about a suspicious wound on her father’s arm.
Now, Pierre faces up to 40 years in prison. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 14, 2023.
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