New York Man Kills Hudson Valley Woman, Stuffs Her in Suitcase

A man allegedly in New York illegally who left a Hudson Valley woman to die after stuffing her inside a suitcase was sentenced.

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On Thursday, Javier Da Silva, 25, of Queens was sentenced to 30 years in prison for kidnapping that resulted in the murder of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes of New Rochelle.

Da Silva and Reyes were previously in a romantic relationship, which ended in approximately April 2018. In the late evening of January 28, 2019, Da Silva rented a car from a garage in Queens and drove to Reyes' home in Westchester County.

Sometime after the two had a violent altercation, during which Reyes suffered head trauma, bruising around the face and a large hematoma to her forehead, officials say.

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Da Silva then kidnapped her, covering her mouth with several layers of packing tape and binding her feet and hands with packing tape and twine and putting her in a suitcase—before disposing of her body, still inside the suitcase, in Connecticut, officials say.

Over the ensuing days, Da Silva used her debit card on various occasions to withdraw approximately $5,350 in cash from her bank account. He also sold an iPad belonging to Reyes in the days following her death, according to the indictment.

On January 30, Reyes was reported missing to the New Rochelle Police Department. A few days later, on February 5, 2019, her body was recovered in a red suitcase alongside a public road in the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut. The Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office later concluded that she died of homicidal asphyxiation.

"Javier Da Silva committed a horrific kidnapping that resulted in the death of a young woman. In the days after, he used her ATM card to empty her bank account and then attempted to cover up the evidence of his conduct. Valerie Reyes, the victim of this crime, was in the prime of her life when it was senselessly ended by Da Silva’s abhorrent act. Those who commit violence, especially those who kill, will not escape justice," U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss stated.

Da Silva says he and Reyes had sex in her New Rochelle home on Jan. 29, the day Reyes went missing, according to court documents.

Da Silva claims Reyes died when she fell to the floor while the two were hooking up and cracked her head open, according to a criminal complaint.

He admits he reacted by covering her mouth and stuffing her body into a suitcase and leaving the suitcase in Connecticut.

Da Silva was in the country illegally, according to ICE.

Da Silva pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping.

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