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"We thought it was a new beginning," said Cornel Alston, the father of her girls.
Instead, the family is left mourning Hughes' loss days after the discovery of her remains, found stuffed in a refrigerator in a wooded area of the Belleplain State Forest on Sunday, Dec. 22.
The timeline around 50-year-old Hughes' death isn't adding up for Alston, who says authorities have given him little information, compounding the pain of the loss.
The NJ Courts website shows that Christopher Blevins, Hughes' boyfriend, has been charged with desecration of human remains in July 2024. Alston, however, says the last time that he saw Hughes was in August 2024 for a child support hearing in Camden County court.
NJ Advance Media says Blevins surrendered to authorities in Mexico on Aug. 27 — which would have been three days since Alston had last seen Hughes. The NJ Advance Media report, citing an affidavit for probable cause, also says that Blevins is believed to have transported a refrigerator to the Belleplain State Forest around July 24, the date on which Blevins' desecration charge is filed on.
Alston says he has been provided with little information from authorities, adding to the pain for him and his daughters, Jase, 18, and Iridessa, 13.
"I’m numb personally because it is not about me," Alston told Daily Voice. "I have to remain strong for my daughters being there for them. One of the toughest things I had to do was tell them how she would no longer have the opportunity to be in their lives every day. Then safe-guarding them from the internet and other people's opinions online."
Authorities have yet to confirm the identity of the remains, but Hughes’ family believes the description matches her. “I was out to dinner when police came to my house,” Alston said. “My daughter FaceTimed me and said the officers needed to talk to me. A friend mentioned details—the tattoos and the necklace—and said it sounded like Laura. That’s when I knew it was her.”
Hughes and Blevins had been living in Danville, VA. When Alston moved to New Jersey from White Plains, NY with his daughters in 2023, Hughes saw it as a new opportunity, Alston said.
“She wanted to be near her kids,” Alston said. "But things were difficult with her boyfriend. She was unhappy and planning to leave him. It was like she was his mom—he struggled with drugs and alcohol.”
Hughes and Blevins lived with Alston and the girls for nine months, until October 2023, when Blevins moved out to Runnemede — and Hughes went with him, Alston said. The last time Alston heard from Hughes was in July, when she left him a voicemail. Then he says he saw her at the courthouse the next month for a child support matter. It's unclear when the girls last spoke to their mother.
A GoFundMe has been launched to support them.
"I don’t believe anyone deserves this," Alston said. "Her tragic death has really come as a shock to my daughters. She loved them the best way she knew how."
Police have not told Alston how they believe that Hughes died. No murder charges had been filed as of press time.
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