Body of Missing NJ Mother Found in Abandoned Home; Husband Arrested, Charged With Murder
The body of a missing New Jersey mother has been found after three weeks of intense searching. Karla Villagra-Garzon was murdered, and her husband has been charged with her death.
Police found Villagra-Garzon's body in an empty home just 11 miles from her home. She was found dead, the official cause of death being asphyxiation and blunt-force trauma. Police have not said how long they believe her body was in the home, but people began searching for Villagra-Garzon over three weeks ago.
The young mother had one daughter, a 2-year-old, and was married to Abayuba Rivas. He has been arrested and charged with murder as well as other offenses. Rivas' bail was set at $2 million by Superior Court Judge Joseph Donohue. He had already been in custody for over a week on charges of endangering a child and hindering apprehension.
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"Everybody is surprised because he didn't say anything," Jose Calle, a neighbor, told ABC News. "I worry about him asking everybody, 'What happened? Do you see my wife?' He never said anything, he's like normal."
Rivas claimed that his wife went out to get a prescription filled after having an argument and that she never returned. He went so far as to tell their daughter that "Mommy went out and she didn't come back yet. I don't have anything else to tell." However, surveillance footage showed that Villagra-Garzon never arrived at the pharmacy.
The Elizabeth Police Department, the Union County Homicide Task Force, and the New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit all worked together on the case and eventually determined that Rivas was the key suspect in the case and arrested him. They did not say what led them to arrest Rivas or what led to the discovery of Villagra-Garzon's body.
"She was angry many times. She had a bad attitude," Rivas told authorities. "It's not something good because [she's been] almost 10 days out of the house," he added.
