Union County Man Sentenced For Killing, Stuffing Wife In Suitcase

ELIZABETH, NJ — An Elizabeth man has been sentenced to 32 years in state prison for killing his wife in the home they shared with their young child, stuffing her body in a suitcase and then dumping her body in an abandoned home before reporting her missing, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced.

Abayuba Rivas, 43, was sentenced to 25 years for aggravated manslaughter, then seven additional years for endangering the welfare of a child. Rivas also must serve at least 85 percent of the 25-year term before the consecutive seven-year sentence begins, under the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act.

• See Related: Elizabeth Man Convicted Of Killing Wife, Dumping Body In Suitcase

Rivas reportedly murdered Karla Jose Villagra Garzon, 32, on Feb. 23 2014, before stuffing her body in a suitcase and dumping it in a vacant residence on Southern Boulevard in Chatham Township, about 10 miles away from their Elizabeth home, where he left her on a mattress in the basement, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Caroline Lawlor, who is prosecuting the case.

The next morning Rivas reported Garzon missing and told authorities at the time that she had went out the night before but never returned, Lawlor said.

A citywide search for Garzon ensued, boosted by friends and family members who took to social media to urge citizens to help find her, as well as Rivas himself, who went on camera for media interviews to plead for assistance from the public before ultimately confessing to police that he killed her, according to the report.

A joint investigation by the Union County Homicide Task Force, Elizabeth Police Department, and New Jersey State Police Missing Persons Unit led to Rivas being identified as a suspect.

Garzon's body, which had duct tape binding her hands and covering her eyes and mouth, was recovered from the vacant home approximately three weeks after she had been reported missing.

An autopsy conducted by the Union County Medical Examiner's Office revealed her cause of death as asphyxiation, with blunt-force trauma contributing.

Also assisting in the investigation were the Union County Sheriff’s Office, Bergen County Sheriff’s Office, Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, Chatham Township Police Department, and Chatham Township Volunteer Fire Department.

In July, Rivas was found not guilty of murder, but guilty of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, second-degree desecration of human remains, two related weapons offenses, and three counts of hindering apprehension, following a trial lasting more than a month and jury deliberations that continued for four days.

Rivas’s sentences on his remaining charges will run concurrently to his 32-year term.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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