EAST ORANGE, NJ – An East Orange man who was charged with murdering his estranged girlfriend and kidnapping their son has plead guilty in court. Last July, a nationwide Amber Alert was issued after Tyler Rios, 27, strangled Yasemin Uyar, 24, and fled with their child.
The July, 2021 incident that resulted in a widely broadcasted Amber Alert launched a multi-state investigation which led to the recovery of the child and the discovery of Uyar’s body in Tennessee.
An investigation led by the Union County Prosecutor’s Office – and assisted by members of the FBI’s Newark Field Office and satellite offices, the New Jersey State Police, and the Rahway Police Department – led to Rios being identified as the suspect in the case after their son Sebastian Rios did not show up for daycare on July 9th and Uyar did not arrive for scheduled work shifts, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Robert Grady, who is prosecuting the case.
“A welfare check was conducted on Uyar’s home by members of the Rahway Police Department, but no one was found inside,” Grady said. “Shortly thereafter, the State Police issued an Amber Alert that was sent to privately owned cell phones, broadcast on electronic billboards along highways in New Jersey and beyond, and widely shared via social media.”
Their son, Sebastian Rios was found unharmed in Monterey, Tennessee on July 10th, when Tyler Rios was taken into custody without incident. Later in the day, investigators located Uyar’s body in a nearby wooded area off Interstate I-40.