A New Jersey resident, Christopher Blevins, 45, is facing a first-degree murder charge following the discovery of his girlfriend’s body in a discarded refrigerator in a New Jersey forest last year. Blevins was arrested on a San Diego beach on January 13 after a trip to Mexico. He was charged with the murder of Laura Hughes, 50, and subsequently extradited back to New Jersey.
The murder charge is an addition to charges filed in Cape May County on January 3, while Blevins was still at large. These charges included second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension, according to the Camden County prosecutor’s office.
Hughes, a mother of two daughters aged 18 and 13 from a previous relationship, was found deceased in the refrigerator in Belleplain State Forest in Cape May County on December 22. The refrigerator was found wrapped in a sleeping bag, covered in carpet, and secured with blue ratchet straps, as per an affidavit. Police released a photo of the distinctive tattoos on the body, which led to the identification of Hughes.
The father of Hughes’ daughters, Cornel Alston, was informed on December 30 that the remains had been identified as Hughes, as per a GoFundMe page set up for Hughes’ family. Authorities believe Blevins disposed of Hughes’ body in the refrigerator in the forest in July before fleeing to Mexico. His green pickup truck was seen with a refrigerator-shaped object in the back in late July, according to police reports. The couple had a history of domestic violence, as reported by various media outlets.
Blevins spent several weeks in Mexico, as per the affidavit, before informing authorities in Mexico City on August 27 that he had fled the US after a violent incident in Runnemede, suggesting 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.