Two months after the naked body of Yadira Corona was found slumped outside the Midas Muffler Shop in Estate Tutu, acting Police Chief Jose Garcia has confirmed that the 18-year-old was strangled to death.
So far, no arrests have been made.
Other than confirming that Corona was strangled, Garcia declined to release any specific details surrounding the investigation. He would not say whether she had been sexually assaulted.
Corona's body, which had abrasions around the neck, was found lying at the entrance of Midas around 7:15 a.m. on Sunday, April 11. The body was found by two women who were going to drop their car off for repairs.
It is unclear if Corona was murdered at Midas or dropped off there after she was murdered at a different location.
"I don't want to speculate as to where she was murdered," Garcia said. "We are looking at different areas. We have some evidence in regard to that but I don't want to disclose that right now."
He added, "It is something the investigators are looking into."
Corona's boyfriend, Reyad Hamdan, reported Corona missing around 2:45 a.m. that Sunday. Police said Hamdan was supposed to pick her up from work around 9:15 p.m. the night before, but she wasn't there when he arrived. Corona worked in the bakery at Plaza Extra in Tutu. Police said Hamdan spent several hours searching for her at the homes of family and friends before reporting her missing.
Yendi Ortiz, Corona's cousin, said her family is so concerned that no arrests have been made that they are going to leave the territory on Friday.
"I don't know if the police are still working on the case, we haven't been in touch with them," she said.
Ortiz said she was particularly alarmed after she received a threatening phone call in May. She said someone called her, muffling their voice so she couldn't tell if they were male or female, and said "I killed your cousin and I am going to kill you next."
Corona, a native of Santo Domingo, was the mother of a one-year-old boy.
Police are urging anyone with information about this crime to call 774-4050 or 774-2233. All calls will be kept confidential.
