A 21-year-old migrant from Ecuador, Jhon Moises Chacaguasay-Ilbis, turned himself in at the Spring Valley Police Department headquarters after he was accused of suffocating a 21-year-old Syracuse woman, Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza, on her birthday and burying her body in a shallow grave in an upstate New York park.
Chacaguasay-Ilbis, who entered the US illegally, allegedly met the victim at his Airbnb in Syracuse on June 18, where they were captured on surveillance cameras entering the property. Hours later, he was seen carrying her limp body to a nearby park, where he buried her in a shallow grave.
Toaquiza’s remains were discovered on Saturday after her family reported her missing. Chacaguasay-Ilbis turned himself in to police on Tuesday and was charged with second-degree murder and concealment of a human corpse. He claimed to have no recollection of the alleged slaying due to excessive drinking.
Chacaguasay-Ilbis was previously picked up by US Border Patrol agents in January 2023 after illegally crossing the border in El Paso, Texas, but was released into the US without a tracking device due to a lack of space. The victim’s relatives said she had immigrated to the US last year, but her immigration status was unclear.
Chacaguasay-Ilbis is being held without bail at the Onondaga County Justice Center and is scheduled to face court again on July 2.