The State Police have charged a Camden County man with desecrating human remains and hindering apprehension related to the discovery of a woman’s body in a refrigerator in Belleplain State Forest Dec. 22.
Christopher Ryan Blevins, 45, of Gloucester City, was arrested on Jan. 3, the State Police said. Blevins has not been charged with causing the death of the victim, identified as Laura Hughes, 50, whose town of residence was not listed.
According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by the Herald, Blevins is alleged to have had a relationship with Hughes. The affidavit says Blevins and Hughes had a history of domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse.
Police searched an apartment shared by the two, where they discovered blue rachet straps, a firearm and a calendar that displayed an “X” on each day of the year prior to July 24, around which time police suspect Blevins dumped the refrigerator in the state forest and Hughes went missing.
The affidavit says the investigation uncovered other critical details and key items that were subjected to forensic analysis but does not provide further details.
The State Police said that an automatic license plate recognition system captured data showing that a green Dodge Ram pickup transporting a refrigerator-shaped object was noticed on two dates before Blevins fled the United States, crossing into Mexico on Aug. 2, where he surrendered to authorities on Aug. 27. The affidavit had no information about Blevins from that date until his arrest Jan. 3.
The Ram pickup was seen in Long Beach Township on July 24, then in Sea Isle City on July 25. Images showed a large, rectangular item in the back of the pickup. When the refrigerator was discovered, it was wrapped in a sleeping bag, secured with blue rachet straps and covered with a carpet.
The affidavit described these as evidence of attempting to hide the remains. According to the affidavit, blue ratchet straps of the type used on the outside of the refrigerator were found in the residence Hughes and Blevins shared.
Further details in the affidavit of probable cause, filed on Friday, Jan. 3, say that authorities in the United States believe Blevins transported the refrigerator to the Dennis Township portion of Belleplain State Forest sometime around July 24, leaving it there, where it was discovered.
The body of the then-unidentified woman was discovered on Sunday, Dec. 22, by a hiker who was visiting the state forest. The hiker, John Patrick Tyrrell, 46, of North Cape May, called police to report finding a body in a refrigerator in the woods.
Police questioned Tyrrell at the scene and later at the police station, where they requested he hand over his cellphone. He refused and was charged with obstruction. He also refused to be fingerprinted, resulting in a disorderly persons charge.
In the meantime, police had released a created image of the distinctive tattoos on the woman, who was described as Caucasian or Hispanic and about five-foot-one.
According to a GoFundMe page, Cornel Alston and his two daughters, ages 13 and 18, were informed on Monday, Dec. 30, that the body was the remains of Hughes, the girls’ mother.
When Blevins surrendered to Mexican authorities on Aug. 27, he said he had been involved in a violent incident in Runnemede, Camden County. The affidavit says Blevins told authorities he panicked and then fled the country, and believed he might have killed someone in a bar fight.
Information on where Blevins was being held and on upcoming court proceedings was not immediately available.
The FBI and U.S. Marshals assisted in the investigation, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
A gofundme page was established to raise money for Hughes’ two daughters. The site is at https://gofund.me/4ce98538.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcmherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
