Police last week arrested the husband of a woman whose remains were found in a suitcase in Forest Park nearly two years ago. Edwin Fuentes, 43, was charged with the murder of Riena De Los Santos-Reyes, whose remains were identified by dental records.
Bones, including a human skull, were found in the suitcase by children playing in Forest Park on Mar. 4, 2008. Investigators immediately believed the remains could be those of the Woodhaven mother, who had been missing since June 2007.
Cops said the children were playing near Forest Parkway and Park Lane South on the afternoon of March 4, when they came across the suitcase tucked behind some bushes adjacent to a concrete trail in the sprawling Woodhaven park.
Police sources said the children “got excited, thinking the suitcase might be filled with money”. So they dragged the blue, rolling suitcase to an open area where they opened it and made the discovery. Investigators said at the time that they believed the suitcase might have been dumped at the site just days or weeks before the children stumbled on it.
Police were initially unable to locate Fuentes for questioning in his wife’s death and disappearance. Fuentes, who had long been suspected in the murder, was also charged with evidence tampering at his arraignment at Queens Criminal Court.
He could face life in prison, if convicted.