The Bronx community has been shaken by the tragic death of 26-year-old Pamela Alcantara, whose body was found near the Saw Mill River Parkway in Yonkers. The NYPD discovered the body yesterday morning during their search for Alcantara, who had been reported missing since Sunday. Emergency medical services pronounced her dead at the scene, and although her identity was not immediately released by police, she was later identified by family members, as reported by Gothamist.
Further unsettling details emerged from an Eyewitness News report confirming that Alcantara's body was found stuffed inside a red suitcase; Alcantara's ex-boyfriend has been taken into custody at the 46th precinct, law enforcement sources revealed that they had not charged anyone yet but they have made no arrests, and the family pointed to him as the suspect. Alcantara was in the midst of moving out of the apartment she shared with her ex-boyfriend on Morris Avenue in the Bronx, and according to her aunt, Isa Peguero, "She was supposed to move, and I think he found out," illustrating a deepening concern about her ex-boyfriend's behavior which included recording her conversations and movements.
The search for Alcantara had prompted her family to post missing posters around her neighborhood in a desperate effort to find her. Surveillance footage last captured Alcantara on Sunday, entering the elevator of her apartment building while on the phone, but there was no footage showing her leaving, highlighting a grim end to what should have been a routine evening. The victim's cousin, Naysa Peguero, told Eyewitness News, "She went to church, she went home, she spoke with her mom on a daily basis and she only spent time with church friends and went to work. That was it."
As the NYPD continues their investigation, they have sealed off Alcantara's apartment, awaiting a warrant to enter, while a candlelight vigil has begun to take shape outside her building. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has yet to determine the cause of death.
