Thaindian News

QUEENS, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A former Queens, New York resident was charged with murder after allegedly killing his wife and dismembering her body, District Attorney Richard A. Brown said Friday.

Edwin Fuentes, 42, of Newark, New Jersey was a Woodhaven, Queens resident who is charged with killing his wife, dismembering her body, and putting some of the parts in a suitcase which was found by a group of teenagers in Forest Park almost one year later.

After committing the crime between June 19, 2007 and June 22, 2007, Fuentes called the police and reported that his wife, Reina De Los Santos Reyes, 42, was missing. The police officer attending the case noted that the defendant had fresh scratch marks on both of his arms and what appeared to be a bite mark on his left hand.

He was reportedly very nervous as well, shaking and stuttering, but Fuentes said he got the marks from playing with his children.

Several months later, four teenagers found a suitcase containing what appeared to be partial human remains as they were walking in Forest Park on March 4, 2008. The remains were classified as a human skull and body parts at the Queens County Morgue, and through dental records, identified Reina De Los Santos Reyes.

An autopsy determined the death was caused by homicidal violence, and investigations uncovered that in the days prior to her disappearance, the couple had a loud argument at approximately 10 p.m. local time, on June 19, 2007.

In addition, a witness reportedly had seen Fuentes choking the victim, threatening to kill her if she ever left him.

Fuentes supposedly admitted to police that he used to be a butcher, and when asked if he thought he was going to get away with the murder, he allegedly replied: “I sure as hell am going to try.”

“The defendant is accused of killing his wife and disposing of her body, leaving her two children without a mother,” District Attorney Brown said. “He was able to evade justice for more than two years but the diligence of police and prosecutors in pursuing this case means that he will now be held accountable for this crime.”

Fuentes is facing from 25 years to life in prison after being charged with second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence. He is being held pending arraignment in Queens Criminal Court Friday.