Victim's Ex Arrested in Suitcase Killing

Valerie Reyes broke up with Javier de Silva just days before she went missing in late January. Days after that, the New York 24-year-old's body was found in a suitcase in Connecticut—and now de Silva has been arrested in connection with the homicide, reports the New York Daily News. Police initially said a suspect in New York who "had fraudulently used" Reyes' ATM card and is "believed to be involved" in her death had been arrested, and later confirmed de Silva's identity, per News 12. They say Reyes was killed at her New Rochelle home, then placed into the suitcase and thrown down an embankment.

De Silva, a 24-year-old Venezuelan citizen, was arrested in Queens Monday night, according to ABC 7. Sources who spoke to the station said he has "made admissions" about Reyes' death. Her cause of death has not yet been released. De Silva is expected to be charged with federal crimes and prosecuted in New York. A private investigator hired by Reyes' family says she was last seen alive on a Manhattan ATM surveillance video. (Her mother said Reyes was in fear for her life before she disappeared.)