Illegal immigrant who admitted to stuffing ex-girlfriend Valerie Reyes in suitcase pleads guilty in death
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A man who admitted to tying up his ex-girlfriend and stuffing her into a suitcase pleaded guilty to her death Wednesday, almost a year after her body was discovered dumped in the woods near an affluent Connecticut town.
Javier E. Da Silva Rojas, 25, pleaded guilty in federal court in White Plains, N.Y., to kidnapping resulting in the death of Valerie Reyes, police in Greenwich, Conn., wrote on Facebook.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He is expected to be sentenced to at least 30 years in prison on May 21, police said.
The body of the 24-year-old Reyes, of New Rochelle, N.Y., was found inside a suitcase in a wooded area in nearby Greenwich on Feb. 5, 2019. An autopsy determined she died of asphyxiation, but the medical examiner did not say whether she died before she was crammed in the suitcase.
Reyes was reported missing on Jan. 30, 2019, after not showing up for work at a Barnes and Noble in Eastchester, N.Y. Her body was found in a suitcase a week later. (Greenwich Police Department)
Detectives and forensic investigators worked for nearly a week before zeroing in on Da Silva Rojas, who was arrested on Feb. 12, 2019.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Da Silva Rojas attracted the attention of law enforcement after he used Reyes' ATM card to withdraw cash multiple times after her death, police have said.
Federal authorities said Da Silva Rojas, who was living in the country illegally, told authorities during a videotaped interview at the New Rochelle Police Department that Reyes fell to the floor and hit her head after they had sex.
VERMONT FUGITIVE ON US MARSHALS 15 MOST WANTED LIST NABBED IN JAMAICA AFTER INTERNATIONAL MANHUNT
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They said he indicated he put packing tape over her mouth, bound her legs and hands and stuffed her into a large red suitcase that he dumped in a forest after driving for some time.
Reyes' family and friends remembered her as a "sweetheart" and gentle soul who had a deep love for family and books.
Da Silva Rojas, a Portuguese national, "entered the U.S. May 8, 2017, through the Visa Waiver Program; however, he failed to leave the United States within the required timeframe," the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement told Fox News last year in a statement.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Immigration officials said Da Silva Rojas would be deported immediately after serving his sentence.
Fox News' Kathleen Joyce and The Associated Press contributed to this report.