A New Jersey man, Christopher Blevins, 45, is now facing a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of his girlfriend, whose body was found in an abandoned refrigerator in a New Jersey forest last year. Blevins was apprehended on a beach in San Diego on January 13, following a trip to Mexico. He was charged with the murder of Laura Hughes, 50, and was subsequently extradited back to New Jersey.
The murder charge is an additional accusation to the charges filed in Cape May County on January 3, while Blevins was still on the run. These charges included second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension, as reported by the Camden County prosecutor’s office.
Hughes, a mother of two daughters aged 18 and 13 from a previous relationship, was discovered deceased in the refrigerator in Belleplain State Forest in Cape May County on December 22. The refrigerator was found concealed in a sleeping bag, covered in carpet, and secured with blue ratchet straps, according to an affidavit. The identification of Hughes was made possible by a photo of the distinctive tattoos on the body, which was released by the police.
The father of Hughes’ daughters, Cornel Alston, was informed on December 30 that the remains had been identified as Hughes, according to a GoFundMe page set up for Hughes’ family. Authorities suspect that Blevins disposed of Hughes’ body in the refrigerator in the forest in July before escaping to Mexico. His green pickup truck was spotted with a refrigerator-shaped object in the back in late July, as per police reports. The couple had a history of domestic violence, as reported by various media outlets.
Blevins spent several weeks in Mexico, according to the affidavit, before informing authorities in Mexico City on August 27 that he had fled the US following a violent incident in Runnemede, hinting that he may have killed someone in a bar fight. The circumstances between his conversation with Mexican authorities and his arrest in Ocean Beach near San Diego remain unclear. Blevins was arrested after police spotted him and another man kicking sand on flames on the beach, as reported by the NBC affiliate in San Diego. Blevins initially provided a fake ID but was arrested after police discovered a criminal warrant in the murder case.