A New York woman’s body was discovered stuffed in a suitcase on the side of a highway after she didn’t show up for a volunteer shift at a Connecticut church the previous week.
Pamela Alcantara was meant to volunteer at a Connecticut church with her pastor on March 2, but she did not show up, according to a bishop with the Latin American Chaplins Association.
According to the New York Police Department, Alcantara’s boyfriend, Junior Perez Diaz, 46, has been charged with murder and kidnapping the 26-year-old woman.
“She was a very noble person,” Bishop Fernando Rodriguez, the head of L.A.C.A. said of the 26-year-old Alcantara. “She loved to work with and help the unfortunate. She worked in a shelter and was very big on feeding the homeless. She was a great girl, a young girl, this is very unfortunate.”
According to Rodriguez, Alcantara graduated as a chaplain two years ago. She had never been to the Connecticut church before, but she hoped to assist the pastor who was scheduled to preach, according to the bishop. Rodriguez stated that he did not know the church’s name or location.
According to the criminal complaint, Perez Diaz “abducted” Alcantara and asphyxiated her between the hours of 2 a.m. and 5 p.m. on March 2 before leaving with her body in a red suitcase. He is charged with murder and abduction.
According to the complaint, Diaz drove the suitcase to the Saw Mill River Parkway and abandoned it in a ditch at Exit 5 in Yonkers, New York.
According to a Bronx District Attorney spokesperson, Diaz received the complaint on Friday, was arraigned on Saturday, and is scheduled to appear in Bronx Criminal Court on Tuesday.
