Man Allegedly Flees The Country After Missing Girlfriend's Strangled Body Found In Connecticut Woods

The body of a woman, missing since Nov. 12, was found strangled in the Connecticut woods and her suspect boyfriend is in the wind.

“Sadly the worst nightmares of the family and friends were confirmed,” said Waterbury Police Lt. David Silverio during a press conference announcing the remains had been identified as those of 26-year-old Janet Avalo-Alvarez, according to The Hartford Courant. “As you can well imagine, they are devastated.”

Avalo-Alvarez was reported missing one day after spending the evening of Nov. 11 at the newly opened La Guakara Taina Bar in Waterbury, Connecticut, based on a missing person's poster circulated following her disappearance.

Authorities identified Avalo-Alvarez’s 32-year-old boyfriend and business partner, Alfredo Peguero-Gomez, as a suspect in her death.

The woman’s body was found on Tuesday, strangled and left in a wooded patch along Route 69 in Wolcott, Fox 61 News reported. 

Avalo-Alvarez’s family confirmed the identity of their loved one's remains after being shown pictures of her body.

Janet Avaló-Alvarez and Alfredo Peguero-Gomez Photo: Waterbury Police Department

“They showed me a picture with tattoos and things that she has,” Avalo-Alvarez’s brother, Randy, told Fox 61.

Peguero-Gomez’s car was tracked down by investigators to a Newark International Airport parking lot. However, the man, who has dual citizenship in the Dominican Republic, remains at large. 

"We are working with the U.S. Marshals as to where he is," Silverio said. "We know that he left the state of Connecticut."

During a vigil honoring Avalo-Alvarez’s memory, friend Ney Casado reflected on the loss of someone she described as radiating with a “beautiful smile.”

"She would fix your day," Casado told Fox 61. "You could come with any problem, and she would be like yeah, let's do it."