Queens Man Pleads Guilty To Kidnapping That Resulted In The Murder Of 24-Year-Old New Rochelle Woman

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that JAVIER ENRIQUE DA SILVA ROJAS (the “defendant” or “DA SILVA”) pled guilty in White Plains federal court to kidnapping Valerie Reyes (the “Victim”) in New Rochelle, New York, and unlawfully transporting her to Connecticut, where her body was found approximately a week later.  DA SILVA, who was arrested in Flushing, Queens, in February 2019, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As he admitted today in court, Javier Da Silva committed a horrid kidnapping that resulted in the tragic death of Valerie Reyes, a young woman with her entire adult life ahead of her.  Thanks to the excellent work of the FBI and our local law enforcement partners, Da Silva is now facing serious consequences.”

According to the criminal Information filed today, as well as other public documents, and statements made during today’s court proceeding:

DA SILVA and the Victim were previously in a romantic relationship, which ended in approximately April 2018.  In the late evening of January 28, 2019, DA SILVA rented a car from a garage in Flushing, New York, and drove to the Victim’s residence in New Rochelle, New York, arriving in the early morning hours of January 29, 2019.  Before he entered the Victim’s home, DA SILVA switched his phone to “airplane mode.”  DA SILVA then kidnapped the Victim – covering her mouth with several layers of packing tape and binding her feet and hands with packing tape and twine and putting her in a suitcase – before disposing of her body in Connecticut.  Over the ensuing days, DA SILVA used the Victim’s debit card on various occasions to withdraw approximately $5,350 in cash from her bank account.  DA SILVA also sold an iPad belonging to the Victim in the days following her death.

On January 30, 2019, Valerie Reyes was reported missing to the New Rochelle Police Department.  A few days later, on February 5, 2019, her body was recovered in a red suitcase alongside a public road in the Town of Greenwich, Connecticut.  The Connecticut Medical Examiner’s Office later concluded that the Victim died of homicidal asphyxiation.

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DA SILVA, 25, pled guilty to one count of kidnapping.  The charge carries a maximum term of life in prison.  The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.  DA SILVA is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Briccetti on May 21, 2020, at 11:00 a.m.       

Mr. Berman praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force, the FBI New Haven Division, the New Rochelle Police Department, the Greenwich Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, and the Westchester County Real Time Crime Center.

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Adelsberg, Mathew Andrews, and Andrew Dember are in charge of the prosecution.