Authorities say suspect in suitcase death is in US illegally

February 13, 2019 at 3:04 p.m.

by The Associated Press

Pallbearers carry the casket of homicide victim Valerie Reyes into her funeral mass at St. Gabriel's Church in New Rochelle, N.Y. Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. Reyes, 24, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was found in a suitcase in Greenwich, Conn. on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Police arrested Javier da Silva, of Queens, N.Y., in connection with the killing. (Tyler Sizemore/Heast Connecticut Media)
Pallbearers carry the casket of homicide victim Valerie Reyes into her funeral mass at St. Gabriel's Church in New Rochelle, N.Y. Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2019. Reyes, 24, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was found in a suitcase in Greenwich, Conn. on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Police arrested Javier da Silva, of Queens, N.Y., in connection with the killing. (Tyler Sizemore/Heast Connecticut Media)

NEW YORK -- Federal immigration authorities say a man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in a suitcase in Connecticut is a citizen of Portugal and is in the U.S. illegally.

Officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday that Javier Da Silva Rojas entered the United States in May 2017 through a visa waiver program and was supposed to leave the country later that year.

Da Silva is charged with kidnapping resulting in death in connection with the killing of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes. Her body was found in a suitcase in Greenwich on Feb. 5.

A lawyer for Da Silva declined to comment Wednesday.

A funeral for Reyes was held Wednesday in her hometown of New Rochelle, New York.

NW News on 02/14/2019

Upcoming Events