In a shocking turn of events, a 21-year-old woman who had fled abuse from her lover in Ecuador was allegedly suffocated and killed by an illegal migrant on her birthday in Syracuse, according to The Post. Jhon Moises Chacaguasay-Ilbis, also 21 and originally from Ecuador, has been charged with the murder of Joselyn Jhoana Toaquiza after they met at his Airbnb for her birthday on June 18, as reported by the Post-Standard.
Toaquiza had crossed the southern border into Lukeville, Arizona, illegally on June 19, 2023, according to Homeland Security sources. While in Border Patrol custody, she revealed that she was being threatened by a past romantic partner and feared returning to Ecuador. She was quickly released with a future court date and claimed she was heading to Chicago.
Just a few months prior, Chacaguasay-Ilbis had crossed the border into El Paso, Texas, illegally and was released into the US due to a lack of space to hold him. Following the murder, Chacaguasay-Ilbis is believed to have buried Toaquiza’s body in a shallow grave at an upstate New York park.
The pair are thought to have attended elementary school together in Ecuador; however, it remains unclear whether or not Chacaguasay-Ilbis was the lover that Toaquiza was trying to escape when she arrived in the US. Surveillance footage showed the two entering the rental property together just before 4:30 pm.
Chacaguasay-Ilbis later allegedly appeared with a limp Toaquiza draped across his back, her arms and legs wrapped around him, as he took her body to a nearby park. He then fled on a Greyhound bus back to his residence in Rockland County’s Spring Valley, according to police.
Toaquiza’s remains were discovered only after her family reported her missing on Saturday. Chacaguasay-Ilbis was charged with second-degree murder and the concealment of a human corpse when he turned himself in on Tuesday. During his appearance in Syracuse City Court, he claimed to have no recollection of the alleged murder due to being too drunk at the time.
The tragic case raises questions about the vetting process for migrants who cross the southern border illegally and are subsequently released by federal authorities. Another recent example is that of Turkish migrant Sakir Akkan, 21, who was arrested in Albany last week after allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl he forced into his car and threatened to beat with a metal pole. Akkan had crossed the southern border into San Diego on November 5th of the previous year and was released by border agents due to a lack of bed space, with a court date set for next February.
