Connecticut police say that a body found in the woods in Wolcott near Waterbury is that of 26-year-old Janet Avalo-Alvarez.
Avalo-Alvarez had been missing since November 12, and her death has been ruled a homicide after the Chief Medical Examiner found she had been strangled.
‘Sadly the worst nightmares of the family and friends were confirmed,’ Waterbury police Lt. David Silverio said at a news conference on Tuesday.
‘The deceased was positively identified as Ms. Janet Avalo-Alvarez. The family has been informed and as of this update, as you can well imagine, they are devastated.’
Her live-in boyfriend, 32-year-old Esmerli Peguero-Gomez, is a suspect in the case and is wanted for questioning police say, but he appears to have fled the country.
‘To the family and friends of Ms. Avalo-Alvarez, the Waterbury Police Department will continue to investigate all leads into this homicide,’ Silverio said. ‘The investigation will continue until all… responsible are identified, located and held accountable for their actions.’
Avalo-Alvarez’s live-in boyfriend, 32-year-old Esmerli Peguero-Gomez, left, is a suspect in the murder of Janet Avalo-Alvarez, 26, pictured right. He is believed to have fled to the Dominican Republic
The couple lived together and were business partners in La Casa Taina, a nightclub in Waterbury, also known as La Guakara Taina. Avalo-Alvarez’s locked Nissan was found parked in the rear of the club with her keys and purse after she went missing
The body of Janet Avalo-Alvarez, 26, of Waterbury, Connecticut, was found Tuesday
Police say the woman’s body was found in woods in Wolcott, Connecticut, near Waterbury
Avalo-Alvarez, was last seen Tuesday around 8:45pm when she was working at her nightclub, La Casa Taina, on East Main Street in Waterbury, cops say.
A friend was the last to hear from Avalo-Alvarez, after receiving a text message from her cell phone around 10:20pm last Tuesday night Waterbury Police Department revealed.
Avalalo-Alvarez’s locked Nissan was then found the next day in the rear parking lot of the club, also known was La Guakara Taina, along with her keys and purse, cops say.
The missing woman did not answer her cell phone or respond to anyone who has reached out on social media since her last known communication.
Investigators were able to find her body after looking through surveillance footage that led them to a block of woods in Wolcott where the car was seen and her body was found by detectives on Tuesday. Pictured, friends and family out on the trail in the search for her
Investigators were able to find her body after looking through surveillance footage that led them to a block of woods in Wolcott where the car was seen and her body was found by detectives on Tuesday.
A vigil was held for the murdered woman outside the nightclub where she worked on Tuesday evening.
‘She was the essence of a Latina. She was very positive and loving. She did not deserve what she went through,’ Stevey Newnez said to the Hartford Courant.
‘With her beautiful smile, she would fix your day,’ said Ney Cosado, a DJ who woked at the nightclub and who knew Avalalo-Alvarez.
‘You could bring her any problem and she would say “Yeah, let’s do it.’ … She was there. She would fix it.”‘
Last Tuesday evening, her boyfriend, 32-year-old Esmerli Peguero-Gomez, was at the Ayers Street home the couple shared together when police came by that evening.
He told cops that he did not know where the missing woman was. After being questioned, the boyfriend’s 2010 Toyota Corolla was spotted driving away from the home about 1am, cops say.
The same vehicle was confirmed crossing the George Washington Bridge from New York into New Jersey about 2:40am, police said before being located in the short-term parking area at Newark-Liberty International Airport.
Authorities said the whereabouts of Peguero-Gomez, who has family in the Dominican Republic and duel citizenship with the country, are not known.
After being questioned, Pueguero-Gomez’s 2010 Toyota Corolla (pictured) drove away from the couple’s Waterbury home about 1am. The same vehicle was later found at Newark airport
Pueguero-Gomez’s car was located in short-term parking at Newark-Liberty International Airport. Authorities said the whereabouts of the boyfriend (left) are not known
Family and friends told investigators that the couple (pictured) often argued over business and personal matters, say police
Family and friends told investigators that the couple often argued over business and personal matters, say police.
Authorities noted they had not responded to any domestic violence calls at the couple’s residence, and confirmed two of her family members were charged with an alleged burglary of the home, which they say they had broken into out of concern for her condition the previous Saturday.
The missing woman’s family members say they could not imagine the boyfriend hurting her, but were curious how he might be involved with her disappearance.
‘I hope he’s running because he’s scared of the situation’, Avalo-Alvarez’s brother Randy Avalo told WFSB.