GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — The Connecticut medical examiner says the woman found dead in a suitcase along a roadway in February was suffocated and died from a lack of oxygen.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirmed Monday that 24-year-old Valerie Reyes’ official cause of death is “homicidal asphyxia,” but did not elaborate on how she was suffocated.
The New Rochelle, New York woman’s body was found by Greenwich town employees on Feb. 5. She had been reported missing by her family six days prior.
Her ex-boyfriend, Javier Da Silva Rojas, of New York City, is being held on a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
His attorneys haven’t commented, but he told police after his arrest that Reyes fell and hit her head.
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