Wine Chiller Murder Nets Lengthy Sentence For Brick Killer

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Brick Township woman who was convicted of beating her wife to death with a wine chiller in 202 has been sentenced to 45 years in prison, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced Thursday.

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, 50, must serve 38 years and three months — 85 percent of the term — under the No Early Release Act before she is eligible for parole. She was sentenced Thursday by Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Gizinski presided over the nearly three-week jury trial where Gavilanez-Alectus was convicted of murder on Sept. 29. The jury also found Gavilanez-Alectus guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, 32, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom of the couple's Creek Road home on May 17, 2020, after Brick Township police were called about an unresponsive woman.

The wine chiller was found at the scene, which police officers described as "gruesome," with the bed linens soaked with blood and blood spattered on the walls, according to an Asbury Park Press report on the trial.

A warrant for the arrest of Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus was issued on May 18, 2020, but she had already left New Jersey; she was arrested May 21,2020 in Houston, Texas and extradited to New Jersey. She has been held at the Ocean County Jail since her extradition.

"We hope this lengthy prison sentence affords Rebecca’s family some level of peace and closure," Billhimer said.

"I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to Senior Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill and Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke — who together tried this case on behalf of the State — for their skill and dedication in prosecuting this horrendous murder, he said.