Illegal Migrant Suffocated Woman To Death On Her Birthday, Prosecutors Say

An illegal immigrant from Ecuador killed a woman on her birthday and then tried to hide her body in a local park, New York prosecutors are alleging.

Jhon Moises Chacaguasay-Ilbis, a 21-year-old national from Ecuador, turned himself into local police custody on Tuesday for allegedly suffocating a woman and burying her body in a Syracuse park, the Onondaga County District Attorney confirmed to the Post-Standard. Prosecutors added that Chacaguasay-Ilbis entered the United States last year when he surrendered himself to Border Patrol, and they suspect he is applying for asylum.

The Ecuadorian man traveled to Central New York on June 18 to meet the woman, Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza, for her 21st birthday, whom he reportedly already knew because they previously attended school together in Ecuador, prosecutor Alphonse Williams stated to local media.

Surveillance footage shows Chacaguasay-Ilbis walking with Toaquiza into the Airbnb he was staying at on June 18, according to the Post-Standard. Three hours later, he is seen again, this time carrying Toaquiza on his back, who appeared to be completely limp in the footage.

He allegedly buried her body in Lincoln Park, which is situated in the North Side neighborhood of Syracuse, according to the Post-Standard. The owner of the Airbnb also told law enforcement that blood was found in the home.

Toaquiza was reported missing in the early morning hours of June 19 by her family, and her body was subsequently located in Lincoln Park on Saturday, according to the Post-Standard. Chacaguasay-Ilbis and Toaquiza were reportedly in a relationship at the time of the murder, according to another local outlet.

Chacaguasay-Ilbis is charged with murder and concealment of a corpse,