NEW ROCHELLE (WCBS 880) — Family and friends packed into St. Gabriel's Church in New Rochelle Wednesday morning to mourn Valerie Reyes, a 24-year-old whose body was found inside a suitcase on the side of a road in Greenwich last week.
Loved ones wore white sweatshirts with a photo of Reyes and the words, “In loving memory of your beautiful soul.”
"We are devastated, but we are happy that the person was caught so she gets to go in peace. It kind of brings us a little more peace to let her go. She is resting and happy,” said cousin Deserie Rodriguez.
The cause of Reyes’ death remains under investigation, but Greenwich Police Captain Robert Berry said her body was discovered “restrained and constrained.”
Family had originally reported the 24-year-old woman missing last month when she did not show up for her shift at a Barnes & Nobel in Eastchester.
Though, it seems as if Reyes was actually the one to help police catch her alleged killer.
A portrait that she drew was found in her New Rochelle apartment bearing the likeness of an ex-boyfriend, who was living in Greenwich.
Investigators quickly worked together to connect the dots, including tracking Reyes’ ATM card transactions, surveillance video and a license plate reader that picked up a rental car.
On Tuesday, police finally arrested Javier da Silva in connection to her death after he reportedly turned himself and made a confession in Reyes' killing.
According to the criminal complaint, da Silva told detectives he was with Reyes at her apartment in New Rochelle when she fell and hit her head. He said he then bound her hands and feet before putting her in a suitcase and dumping her body in Greenwich.
The last time Reyes spoke to her mother, she had fearfully admitted that she thought somebody was going to kill her.
Reyes' grandfather said, in Spanish, that he never met the ex-boyfriend accused of kidnapping his granddaughter and stuffing her body in a suitcase. But, he said the most important thing now is for justice.
Da Silva is charged with kidnapping that resulted in death.