Atlantic City man convicted of killing ex-girlfriend

An Atlantic City man faces life in prison after a jury convicted him in the fatal 2020 shooting of his former girlfriend.

Maximo Santiago, now 72, has been jailed since Sept. 13, 2020, the day after he shot the 32-year-old woman on his Belfield Avenue porch.

He was arrested as he tried to flee in his Nissan Pathfinder.

Marketa Thorpe, known to friends as Gina, was homeless and had slept on Santiago's porch the night before, according to information previously released in court.

He told police Thorpe tried to attack him with a plastic broom when he went inside, got a loaded rifle and came out and fired once.

Santiago remained calm during his interview with the investigators, even joking as he pulled a round out of his pocket saying,“ Now I’m even more guilty, aren’t I?” Chief Assistant Prosecutor Kathleen Robinson said at his detention hearing.

He was convicted of murder and weapons charges, including possession by a certain person not to possess a weapon.

Santiago was convicted of first-degree sexual assault in 1975, his last apparent charge until the killing.

He faces life in prison with 30 years of parole ineligibility when he is sentenced April 20.