Police: 73-year-old old woman tied up with tape during home invasion robbery in Clifton

Police say a 73-year-old woman was found lying on the living room floor at her home in Clifton.

Matt Trapani and Chris Keating

Mar 27, 2023, 4:27 PM

Updated 626 days ago

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Police say two men duct-taped a 73-year-old woman during a home invasion robbery Sunday in Clifton.
Police say two men dressed in black broke into the woman’s home, one armed with a gun.
Ramona Cartagena tells News 12 New Jersey that she keeps replaying what happened in her head. She says she was tied up and had some of her most precious belongings stolen from her.
Cartagena says she was at her counter around noon Sunday working on a craft project when the two men broke in through the front door of her home.
“I just froze,” Cartagena says.
She says he spoke in Spanish and told her not to move
“With my own tape, he tied my hands. He tied my feet and he put tape on my mouth,” Cartagena says.
She was pushed to the floor in her living room and stayed there while the two men ransacked the house. They stole $3,000 in cash and jewelry.
“The most thing that bothered me is that they touched my daughter’s stuff,” she says.
The men stole the wedding band and engagement ring that belonged to her daughter Maria, who died from breast cancer nearly two years ago.
Cartagena was comforted by her son-in-law, Dennis, while describing the ordeal. He still lives with her. He says he kept the rings in his room in a box.
Once the thieves left, Cartagena says she pulled the tape from her mouth and called the police. She also stated that one of the men had a tattoo.
Clifton police say that the only description of the suspects is that they were two "dark-skinned males" wearing all black and possibly wearing surgical masks.
Cartagena says she has a message for the two men who stole from her.
“Did you forget you have a mother, a sister - that you have somebody in your life you love? Imagine that happened to somebody you love,” she says.
Anyone with information can call Clifton police at 973-470-5908. Calls can remain anonymous.