East Windsor Man's Mother Suffered Aneurysm Days Before Murder

EAST WINDSOR, NJ - Elizabeth Nieto wakes up every day with a painful reminder of two tragedies that hit her life within 16 days. One nearly claimed her life; the other claimed the life of her son.

One month after he was found killed in his home, the 48-year-old Nieto remembered Luis Sanchez as a man who loved art his whole life, and a man who was there for her when she needed him the most.

Two weeks after Nieto suffered an aneurysm, Sanchez was found deceased in his home, the victim of an apparent fatal stabbing.

Jeffrey Vasquez-Calderon, 37, of East Windsor, has been arrested and charged in the Feb. 27 murder, and will remain in jail pending trial.

“I don’t hate him,” Nieto said of Vasquez-Calderon Wednesday morning, one month to the day after her son was killed. “My heart has no hate. I am angry. I have anger toward him because he was my son’s friend. He trusted him.”

The two lived on the same street, and Nieto described the two as friends, although she said she never met Vasquez-Calderon. The two had returned home from a local bar early that morning. Vasquez-Calderon claims he went back to his home to get more beer, and when he returned, he found that Sanchez had been killed.

Police have not yet established a motive in the case. Vasquez-Calderon last appeared in court on Monday, with no future court dates currently scheduled. He faces charges of murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon. The charges are merely accusations, and Vasquez-Calderon is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Read more here: Mysterious Details Emerge In East Windsor Murder: Cops

Nieto knows very little about the friendship between the two men, and police haven’t told her anything because the investigation remains in its very early stages. She is dealing with her loss while she recovers from an aneurysm she suffered just before her son was killed.

“I’m still recuperating,” Nieto said. “I had major surgery. Before my surgery, they told him to come say goodbye to me because I might not make it. It looked like I was going to die. I’m still alive, and I’m frustrated because my son is the one who is dead.”

She said she was still recovering in the hospital when she learned that her son had been killed.

“I had an aneurysm on Feb. 11,” Nieto said. “My son came and took care of me for a week. He was there for me every day. And then the next week, I found out that he was killed.”

Her heart is filled with loving memories of a son who was taken from her too soon.

“When he was little, I showed him to paint Mickey Mouse on his underwear. It was very funny,” Nieto recalled.

It was also a moment that would help shape Sanchez’s life. When his parents separated a short time later, Sanchez went to live with his father in Princeton. He brought with him his passion for art.

When he lived in Queens, NY, he drew inspiration from the city's raw grittiness and graffiti art. However, his inspiration and art changed when he moved to Princeton. His style evolved as he incorporated new life experiences, according to an online fundraiser that raised $7,285 for his family.

In April 2016, Sanchez won Gallery on Main's April "Artist of the Month" award. His work has been described as a reflection of his personal experiences or what he observed from the experiences of others.

Read more here: East Windsor Man Killed In Home Was Award-Winning Artist, Father

Nieto is trying to get more of his work to be put on display in Princeton. She said she is also an artist, but the family love for art didn’t go the way one might expect it did.

“He inspired me to become an artist,” Nieto said of her son.

She knew her son had talent from an early age, and she still has a lot of paintings from his childhood. He began painting in earnest when he was 11 or 12, Nieto said. Years later, Sanchez was there for Nieto in her hour of need. Now, she wants justice for her son.