Authorities say suspect in suitcase death is in US illegally
By Associated Press
Feb 13, 2019 1:36 PM CST
Authorities say suspect in suitcase death is in US illegally
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.,...   (Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) — 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.

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