'I Was Praying That Wasn't Her:' Family, Friends Mourn Woman Found Dead Inside Suitcase
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) – Family and friends are mourning a 24-year-old Westchester County woman found dead inside a suitcase in Connecticut.
A candlelight vigil was held Thursday at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle, where hundreds of people gathered to grieve Valerie Reyes.
She was reported missing on Jan. 29 when she didn't show up for work at a Barnes & Noble in Eastchester and couldn't be found at her apartment in New Rochelle.
A week later, a gruesome discovery was made in Greenwich, Conn.
Reyes body was found stuffed inside a suitcase, with hands and feet bound, dumped along the side of Glenville Road.
Friends described her as sweet and loving.
"I was praying that wasn't her in the suitcase. I was praying her family would have her back. She's the oldest sibling, to lose your first born, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," her neighbor, Brenda DeGiacomo, told CBS2.
"I just hope they catch whoever did it, so this doesn't happen again," a man added. "It's tough."
Investigators were reconstructing Reyes' movements after she went missing. She may have spent time in Manhattan.
Sources told CBS2 she was feeling anxious after breaking up with a boyfriend.
Reyes' autopsy has been completed, but authorities have not released her cause of death.
Police said they've received a multitude of tips in the case and ask people to continue to contact them with any new information.