Merrick man pleads guilty to manslaughter in wife's strangulation

Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce A. Smith announced that a Merrick man pled guilty today to manslaughter for the strangling death of his wife in February 2020 after an argument inside of their home.

John Gerges, 61, pled guilty before Judge Tammy Robbins to first degree manslaughter, a B violent felony. Gerges is expected to be sentenced to 21 years in prison and five years post-release supervision on September 13, 2021. 

"John Gerges brutally strangled his frail wife after a petty argument and fled the home leaving their adult son to find her body in her bed," Acting DA Smith said. "The defendant returned to the house the following day, was apprehended and, by this plea, will be held responsible for this act of ultimate domestic violence."

Smith said that in the early morning hours of February 22, 2020, Gerges strangled his wife, 58-year-old Marvat Gerges, inside their Merrick home following a 3 a.m. verbal altercation over the cleanliness of their home.

Marvat, who was homebound with severe arthritis, was found in the guest bedroom laying on a bed with marks around her neck by the couple's adult son at approximately 2:30 p.m. on February 22, when he returned home from work as a security guard in Queens. The son called 911 immediately and Marvat was later pronounced dead at the home.

The defendant was not home at the time his son found the body and did not return to the home until the following morning when he was questioned and later arrested by Nassau County Police Department detectives.

Senior Litigation Counsel Nicole Aloise of the Homicide Bureau is prosecuting the case. Ira Weissman, Esq. represents the defendant.

Courtesy Office of the District Attorney of Nassau County