Who is Javier Da Silva Rojas? Queens man gets 30-year jail for killing ex-girlfriend
QUEENS, NEW YORK: A 25-year-old Queens man, Javier Da Silva Rojas, was given a 30-year prison sentence on September 23, Thursday, for stuffing his ex-girlfriend, Valerie Reyes, in a small suitcase after tying her up and leaving her to suffocate to death at a Connecticut road. Javier Da Silva Rojas pleaded guilty to a single count of kidnapping for the fatal abduction of 24-year-old Reyes in 2019. Rojas is an illegal immigrant living in New York City.
On January 28, 2019, Rojas drove to Reyes' house, switched his phone to airplane mode and entered her home in New Rochelle. The couple allegedly got into an argument which turned into a violent altercation, following which Reyes was left with head trauma and bruising around her face. Rojas then bound Reyes with packing tape and twine, shoved her inside a small suitcase, drove to Greenwich, Connecticut, 10 miles from her home, and left the suitcase in a wooden area, court documents revealed.
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Federal authorities said that according to Rojas, he and Reyes had sex at her home, following which she fell to the floor and hit her head. Reyes' body was recovered by authorities on February 5, one week after the assault. According to Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office, she died of homicidal asphyxiation.
Prosecutors revealed that Rojas is also guilty of withdrawing approximately $5,350 from Reyes' bank account and stealing her iPad and laptop. "In the days after, [Rojas] used her ATM card to empty her bank account and then attempted to cover up the evidence of his conduct,” said Manhattan US Attorney Audrey Strauss in a statement. Reportedly, Reyes had earlier told her mother that 'she was nervous, anxious and afraid someone was going to murder her.' Besides his 30-year sentence, Rojas will have two more years of supervised release, and will likely be deported after his sentence is complete.
"The victim of this crime was in the prime of her life when it was senselessly ended by Rojas’ abhorrent act,” Strauss said in a statement. When Reyes' mother gave a statement, Rojas was allegedly seen crying. " 'You, Javier, deserve nothing but pain and rejection,' she told the court. 'I want you to hear the words of a mother who you devastated by taking away my baby girl.' Apologizing to the victim's family, Rojas said, 'No words can express how repulsed I am by the acts I committed. I will never forgive myself for that. I cannot ask [Reyes's family] to forgive me because I don’t deserve it. I would like them to know I’m very sorry.'