A New Jersey man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, whose remains were found in a fridge, after San Diego police arrested him for setting an illegal beach fire.
The body of 50-year-old Laura Hughes was found in the refrigerator in New Jersey’s Belleplain State Forest, Cape May County, in December 2024.
Authorities allege that her boyfriend, 45-year-old Christopher Blevins, dumped the mother-of-two’s body in the woods at the end of July 2024 before fleeing to Mexico.
Blevins was picked up by the San Diego Police Department on January 13 while setting an illegal beach fire on Ocean Beach and is awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
In addition to first-degree murder, he faces charges of second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension, Camden County prosecutor’s office said.
The fridge Hughes was found in had been wrapped in a sleeping bag secured with blue ratchet straps and covered with carpet, “clear evidence of an effort to hide the remains,” the affidavit states.
When they first discovered Hughes’s body, police had to use computer-generated images of tattoos to identify her.
The couple had a history of domestic violence and other substance abuses, according to an affidavit, NBC San Diego reports.
Police searched their shared apartment shortly after Blevins fled and discovered blue ratchet straps and a firearm.
Blevins had been hiding out in Mexico for weeks, according to the affidavit, but on August 27, he voluntarily handed himself in to police in Mexico City.
There, he told police that he “admitted being involved in a violent incident in Runnemede, New Jersey, and said that he ‘panicked’ afterward.”
“He stated that he may have killed someone in a bar fight,” the affidavit said.
His whereabouts are not clear between his confession to the Mexico City police and being found on the beach in San Diego.
Hughes leaves behind two teenage daughters, aged 13 and 18, from a previous relationship, a GoFundMe page set up to support them says.
“While nothing can ever undo the pain of this tragic loss, we hope this outcome brings some measure of peace to her family and all who cared for her,” said Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police.
“This case is a powerful reminder that no challenge is too great when agencies unite with a shared mission—to stand for victims and their families, ensuring their voices are never forgotten.”
