BRONX, N.Y. — A Bronx man has been indicted for murder and kidnapping after allegedly killing his girlfriend, placing her body in a suitcase, and discarding it along the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers, Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced Thursday.
Key Points
- Junior Perez Diaz, 46, indicted for second-degree murder and kidnapping
- Victim Pamela Alcantara, 27, was found dead in a suitcase on March 6
- Surveillance footage and investigation led to the defendant’s arrest
Junior Perez Diaz, 46, of Morris Avenue, was arraigned before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Audrey Stone on charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and both first- and second-degree kidnapping. He is being held without bail and is scheduled to return to court on April 16.
“The defendant allegedly murdered his girlfriend and then lied to police, saying she left their home on her own,” said District Attorney Clark. “Her body was found days later in a suitcase along a parkway. His alleged actions are atrocious and terrifying, and we will seek justice for the victim.”
According to the investigation, Pamela Alcantara, 27, was reported missing on March 2 after failing to attend church services. The defendant allegedly told her family and investigators that she had left their apartment wearing pajamas and carrying a suitcase.
However, surveillance footage from their Morris Avenue residence reportedly showed Alcantara entering the building around midnight on March 1, followed by Perez Diaz two hours later. Footage later captured Perez Diaz leaving the apartment with a red suitcase, which he was seen loading into his vehicle.
Alcantara’s body was discovered on March 6 inside a suitcase on the side of the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers. Authorities determined she died from homicidal asphyxiation.
A Bronx man is facing murder charges after his girlfriend was found dead in a suitcase dumped off a Yonkers parkway.