One of the most recent true crime stories to reach national news was the death of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes, whose body was found stuffed inside a suitcase on the side of a highway in Greenwich, Connecticut on February 5.
Where is Valerie?
On January 28, Valerie called her mother in a panic telling her that she felt like someone was going to kill her, though she didn’t know who or why. She finally calmed down toward the end of their conversation and hung up. That was the last anyone heard from Valerie.
Valerie failed to show up for work at Barnes and Noble the next day, and when her mother couldn’t reach her, she reported Valerie as missing.
Finding Valerie
There were no leads as to where Valerie had gone until highway workers found her body stuffed in a red suitcase in Greenwich, Connecticut, nearly 14 miles from her apartment.
She was clothed, and her wrists and ankles were bound, and there was tape over her mouth.
Nobody knew who could have done this to Valerie, who was kind to everyone and who had no known enemies.
The Confession
Valerie’s 24-year-old ex-boyfriend Javier Da Silva was arrested in Queens, New York on February 11 when he confessed to stuffing Valerie’s body in a suitcase and ditching on the side of the highway in Connecticut.
Da Silva, who is from Portugal and is in the country illegally, claims that he did not kill Valerie, but that she died when she hit her head while the two were having sex on January 29. Da Silva said that he then bound her wrists, ankles, and put tape over her mouth before stuffing her in the suitcase and driving from New York to Connecticut to dispose of her body.
Da Silva was also arrested for fraudulently using Valerie’s ATM card after she was reported missing.M
