Christopher Blevins and Laura Hughes had a history of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, according to the affidavit (Photos: NJSP and Alston family) NJSP/Daily Voice
A Gloucester County man is accused of transporting the remains of his girlfriend to a Cape May County forest, where her body was found inside a refrigerator last month.
The previously unidentified body was found Dec. 22, after hiker John Tyrrell called police to the Belleplain State Forest. Tyrrell, 46, is charged with obstruction in the case.
But now the dead woman's boyfriend faces charges with desecrating her remains and hindering.
She has been identified as Laura Hughes, according to the affidavit of probable cause against Christopher Blevins.
The 45-year-old Gloucester man fled to Mexico days after license plate reader, or ALPR, data captured him transporting "a refrigerator-shaped object on two separate days before he fled the United States," the affidavit states.
The couple had a history of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, according to the affidavit.
No one has yet been charged in the woman's death.
The ALPR allegedly captured Blevins' green Dodge Ram transporting a refrigerator-shaped object on two separate occasions
An ALPR photograph from 6:16 a.m. July 24 shows the loaded truck in Long Beach Island. At 4 p.m. the next day, the same truck with the object was in Sea Isle City.
The photos appear to show the outline of a large rectangular object in the bed of the truck underneath a soft tonneau cover and what appears to be a 2x8 board.
"It was established that the green pickup was solely operated by Blevins," the affidavit states.
That same green pickup then crossed the border into Mexico from Brownsville, Texas, on Aug. 2, according to the affidavit.
Then on Aug. 27, Blevins voluntarily surrendered to authorities in Mexico City.
It was there that he admitted to "being involved in a violent incident" in Runnemede, Camden County, and that he may have killed someone in a bar fight, the affidavit states. He said he panicked afterward.
The ALPR hits and interviews the FBI and U.S. Marshals Office had with associates of Blevins "strengthened the case against him," the affidavit states.
Hughes leaves behind two daughters, ages 18 and 13. Their father, Cornel Alston, has set up a GoFundMe to help them.
Alston told the Daily Voice that he has been provided with little information from authorities.
"I’m numb personally because it is not about me," Alston told the publication. "I have to remain strong for my daughters being there for them. One of the toughest things I had to do was tell them how she would no longer have the opportunity to be in their lives every day. Then safe-guarding them from the internet and other people's opinions online."
A TikTok post shows various photos of the victim with her daughters and their father.
It was not clear where Blevins is being held. He is not yet listed as detained in any jail in the state.
