Report: Husband dumped N.J. wife's body in vacant home

CHATHAM TOWNSHIP, N.J. - The owner of the ranch-style house where the body of a murdered 32-year-old woman was found said she was told by police that the victim's husband broke in through the home's back door and dumped his wife's corpse in the basement, reports the Star-Ledger.

Authorities told the paper that 39-year-old Abayuba Rivas, of Elizabeth, routinely drove his truck past the house for work, picking up donated clothes. Rivas was charged with killing his wife, Karla Villagra-Garzon, after police found the body Tuesday night in the uninhabited Chatham home belonging to Anne Carbone, who owns the residence with two business partners.

Villagra-Garzon, the mother of a 2-year-old girl, went missing Feb. 23. Her husband initially told police that she had not returned after going on a walk to Walgreens to get medication for her daughter.

Carbone told the Ledger that police said Rivas broke into the house in late February. The suspect allegedly smashed a window on the back door and either killed Villagra-Garzon at the home or brought her body to the residence after she was dead, Carbone said.

A law enforcement official who the Ledger said was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed Carbone's account, according to the paper.

The paper reports that the home has been vacant since Hurricane Sandy, damaged by a fallen tree and then a fire. "Private Keep Out," reads a sign posted on the front door.

Villagra-Garzon's autopsy determined that she died of asphyxiation with blunt-force trauma contributing, according to the Union County Prosecutor's Office. Police have not stated publicly where or when she was killed.

Authorities still aren't saying publicly what lead them to the Chatham house.