Valerie Reyes Murder Suspect Was In Country Illegally, ICE Says

Javier Da Silva was in the country illegally when he allegedly bound and stuffed the body of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes of Westchester in a suitcase and dropped it in a wooded area of Greenwich, according to officials with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in New York.

The man who allegedly killed Valerie Reyes was in the country illegally.
Photo Credit: *Greenwich Police Department*

Kathy Reakes

02/14/2019 9:45 a.m.

Da Silva, a citizen of Portugal, was living in Flushing, Queens when he was nabbed on Monday, Feb. 11, by FBI and local law enforcement for the brutal murder.

Da Silva entered the U.S. on May 8, 2017, through the Visa Waiver Program; however, he failed to leave within the required timeframe, said Rachael Yong Yow, an ICE public affairs officer.

He is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending criminal proceedings.

Once DaSilva has been through the court system and serves any potential sentence, Yong Yow said ICE will seek to take custody.

"ICE lodged a detainer with USMS Feb. 13. Pursuant to the detainer, ICE will aim to take custody of Da Silva for immediate removal when he is released from criminal custody," Yong Yow said.

Da Silva admitted during an interview with an FBI agent that he did bound and put Reyes, a New Rochelle resident, in a suitcase and leave it in a wooded area, according to a criminal complaint filed in Superior Court.

Reyes, a 2012 graduate of New Rochelle High School, worked at Barnes & Noble in Eastchester. She was last heard from on Monday, Jan. 28 and had not been seen since Tuesday, Jan. 29. Her family filed a missing person report with the New Rochelle Police on Wednesday, Jan. 30.

Her body was discovered in the suitcase around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 5 by a Greenwich highway crew in a wooded area.

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