New Cold Case Unit Charges Man With 1999 Englewood Murder

ENGLEWOOD, NJ — A man has been charged with murder 19 years after a city woman was killed thanks to the effort of a newly-formed Cold Case Homicide Unit, authorities announced Thursday.

Jose Colon has been charged with murder and sexual assault for the Englewood homicide of Hyo J. Lee, 33, after her body was found behind a dumpster the morning of July 4, 1999, acting Bergen County Prosecutor Dennis Calo announced.

The cold case unit identified Colon as a suspect in Lee's murder after resubmitting evidence to the New Jersey State Police Office of Forensic Sciences in March, Calo said. The unit is comprised of officers from the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office and the New Jersey State Police.

Authorities developed a new DNA profile off of the evidence and uploaded it to a national DNA database. Colon, aka Luis Chavez, was identified as a suspect, Calo said.

Colon was arrested in Cleveland, Ohio in 1999 for a similar crime in which the victim survived, the acting prosecutor said. He was deported from the United States in 2005 to his native Nicaragua after serving time in Ohio State Prison for the 1999 Cleveland assault.

Authorities are working with federal authorities and the federal Department of Justice to find Colon and extradite him in the United States to stand trial for Lee's murder, Calo said.

"This Cold Case Homicide Unit is a testament that the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office does not forget the victims of violent crimes no matter how much time passes, and that we will dedicate the energy and resources to bring justice to those victims whenever possible," Calo said.

The unit is reviewing more than 90 cold cases dating back to the 1950s.

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Photo: Jose Colon (Bergen County Prosecutor's Office)