The New York State Police say they have identified the woman found dead and set on fire in James Baird State Park on June 12, 2011, and that the suspect in the homicide is also dead.
State police said the dead woman has been tentatively identified as Jasmine Maxine Nunez, 22, of the Bronx. Nunez was last seen with her live-in boyfriend, Andres Ceballos, 26, police said.
Ceballos killed himself after fleeing police in Virginia on Monday, the New York State Police said in a press release Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Nunez’s family reported her missing to the New York City Police Department, state police said.
On Monday, Virginia State Police encountered Ceballos’ vehicle, a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, on Route 58, heading west toward Emporia, VA.
Southampton County deputies and Virginia State Police attempted to stop the vehicle, and a chase followed. At one point, Ceballos exited the vehicle and fled. He then fatally shot himself.
New York State Police said a news conference is planned this morning in Valhalla, Westchester County.
LaGrange Fire Department firefighters discovered the charred remains of a female victim June 12 2011, when they responded to a report of a brush fire only feet from James Baird Park Road. The body, which was found about 05:15 a.m., less than a mile off the Taconic State Parkway, had apparently been set on fire minutes before the arrival of a fire crew, state police said.
Days before her body was found on fire in James Baird State Park, the Bronx woman said she planned to leave her live-in boyfriend, who she had described to her sister, Melanie Nunez, 20, of Springfield, MA, as “increasingly controlling” and “constantly breaking into her Facebook account, e-mail, phone”.
Jasmine was planning on leaving her boyfriend.
The cause of death has not been released yet.
The investigation remains ongoing.
All charges are merely accusations and all defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to call the NYPD‘s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1–800–577–TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1–888–57–PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers‘ website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
All tips will be kept strictly confidential.
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