Woman Found Dead in Suitcase Identified as Missing New York Woman

Valerie Reyes, 24, of Rochelle, N.Y., was found dead in Greenwich, Conn., on Feb. 5, 2019, police officials confirmed on Feb. 7, 2019. Valerie Reyes/Facebook

A woman found dead in a suitcase was identified as a missing 24-year-old New York woman.

Valerie Reyes was found inside the suitcase with her hands and feet tied on Feb. 5 off Glenville Road in Greenwich.

The Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner identified the body, the Greenwich Police Department said on Feb. 7. Her family was notified on Wednesday night.

“They are obviously devastated by the loss of Valerie and our heartfelt condolences go out to them,” police said in a statement obtained by the Rockland/Westchester Journal News.

A town highway worker saw the suitcase about 15 feet off the road on Tuesday morning and told the police. Police believe Reyes did not die at that location and her cause of death has not been released.

“Many pieces of possible physical evidence were collected and results from forensic analysis are pending,” police said.

After the discovery, police officials said that the case was a murder case.

“There was no doubt homicide was involved,” Greenwich Police Capt. Robert Berry said at a press conference, according to the Greenwich Time. “We do not know the manner or cause of death at this time.”

Reyes Went Missing

Reyes went missing in late January after she didn’t show up for work.

The NYPD shared a missing person poster of her on Jan. 31, describing her as a short woman with black hair, brown eyes, and a half-sleeve tattoo on her left arm.

“Suffers from anxiety and depression,” the police department stated.

Family members and other loved ones circulated pleas for help on Facebook and Twitter after Reyes went missing. A man who said he was Reyes’s boyfriend asked for help finding her.

“My girlfriend Valerie is now officially reported as a missing person nationwide by the authorities. Please contact me if there is ANY kind of information,” the man wrote in a tweet that was shared thousands of times, reported the Hartford Courant.

Meanwhile, the highway worker who found the body is under investigation, officials said.

Greenwich First Selectman Peter Tesei confirmed that the worker took pictures of the victim and the crime scene.

“It’s an egregious lack of judgment and sensitivity to the situation,” said Tesei, who serves as police commissioner in Greenwich. “That’s someone’s wife, daughter, sister. To have done something like that shows a disregard for the decedent and their loved ones. It really is unconscionable.”

Reactions

After the body was found, people who live and work nearby said they were nervous.

“It’s unnerving and a little scary, but hopefully they are good at their job and will get things done,” Anthony Zaccagnino, who owns a nearby gas station, told NBC New York.

“I open up at 6 o’clock in the morning, by 8 o’clock, I see cop cars going by. Customers came down and said somebody found a body in a suitcase at the top of the hill,” he added.

“It’s so sad, so tragic,” said area resident Susan Whitman. “I hope they get to the bottom of it.”

“I feel like this neighborhood is relatively safe, so it’s a surprise. Finding a body near where you live, it’s concerning,” Liza Scullin, another resident in the area, told the Time.

“It’s tragic,” an unnamed grandmother added. “I have two granddaughters. I worry about this all the time.”

“Oh my God, this feels surreal,” said a 19-year-old Glenville woman. “It’s not unbelievable, but it’s shocking that it happened right here.”

From NTD News