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The six-count indictment returned by grand jurors in Elizabeth also charges Tyler Rios, 27, with desecrating the remains of 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar of Rahway after killing her.
Authorities began searching for Uyar and Sebastian Rios on July 8 after he didn’t show up for daycare and she didn't arrive for scheduled work shifts.
Tyler Rios was identified as a suspect in the case, and a welfare check by Rahway police found them gone from Uyar’s home.
New Jersey State Police issued an Amber Alert that was sent to privately owned cell phones, broadcast on electronic billboards along highways in New Jersey and beyond, and widely shared via social media.
Union County prosecutor’s detectives also called their colleagues at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee and said they believed Rios -- who has relatives in the area -- was in the vicinity.
Within minutes, local police spotted Uyar’s silver Ford Fiesta at the Bethel Inn Hotel off Route 40 in Monterey, a tiny town of 2,850 on land once owned by Thomas Jefferson between Nashville and Knoxville.
Rios refused to surrender, so police and FBI agents stormed the hotel room, seized him and recovered Sebastian, who they said was unharmed.
Rios then led federal agents and sheriff’s officers to a wooded area less than 10 miles away on Route 70, near Cookeville, TN, where they found Uyar’s body.
She died from strangulation and blunt force trauma, an autopsy found.
SEE: CAPTURED! Here’s How FBI, Local Law Enforcers Nabbed NJ Fugitive, Rescued Boy, Found Mom’s Body
Rios had previously been convicted of aggravated assault on a domestic violence victim and was sentenced to 180 days in jail with three years of conditional probation in February 2020, court records show. Yasemin Uyar was the victim, a close family friend told Daily Voice. Rios had agreed as part of a plea deal to complete anger management classes and not have any contact with Uyar again.
Records also showed that Rios had been arrested at least twice in Arizona in 2019, once on assault and unlawful imprisonment charges and another time for allegedly firing a gun.
Karen Uyar said her daughter and Rios had known each other since she was in high school but hadn't been involved since after Sebastian was born. She said he could become violent, particularly when he drinks.
Rios was extradited back to New Jersey on July 16 and remains held in the Essex County Jail, Union County Prosecutor William A. Daniel said Thursday.
He’s scheduled for an Oct. 12 arraignment on the indictment in Superior Court in Elizabeth, Daniel said. In addition to the other counts, Rios is charged with kidnapping, child endangerment, violating a restraining order and theft, the prosecutor said.
“We are grateful for the collaboration with the many local and federal law enforcement agencies who assisted our [d]ffice in not only apprehending Mr. Rios but also in safely recovering Sebastian Rios, locating Ms. Uyar’s remains and bringing them both home to their family” Daniel said. “And we hope that this can bring some small measure of comfort to all those grieving Yasemin.”
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