A man accused of kidnapping and killing his ex-girlfriend was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.
Javier Da Silva Rojas, 26, pleaded guilty in the 2019 murder of 24-year-old Valerie Reyes.
In White Plains Federal Court, Judge Vincent Briccetti called it "a brutal, callous, cruel crime."
Before his sentencing, a weeping Da Silva Rojas read a letter in court, saying he was deeply sorry for his actions but that he doesn't expect Reyes' family to forgive him.
The Reyes family did not want to comment after sentencing, but Reyes' mother described her daughter in court as a compassionate, intricate and selfless young woman who worked hard to enjoy the good things in life.
The New Rochelle woman was kidnapped by Da Silva Rojas from her apartment in January 2019. He was accused of using several layers of packing tape to cover her mouth, bind her feet and hands and then putting her in a suitcase. After an intense search, investigators recovered her body in a red suitcase one week later off of a public road in Greenwich, Connecticut. He also used her debit card to drain her bank account of over $5,000.
The sentencing comes after COVID-19 and other issues pushed his court date back several months.
While Da Silva is expected to be deported after serving time, there's no guarantee - so the judge added on another two years of supervised release.