A young woman told her mother she was afraid of being murdered days before her body was found in a suitcase on the side of the road.
Valerie Reyes, 24, was reported missing on January 30 after she didn't show up to work at a book shop in Connecticut, New York.
After a week-long search, on Tuesday (local time) road workers found a large red suitcase several metres off a road in the town of Greenwich. Inside was a horrific sight: the body of a woman with her hands and feet bound.
- Grace Millane - one of six suspected homicides in NZ in 11 days
- Mum of US teenager found dead in hotel freezer sues for $50 million
- Child's harrowing screams after mother's south Auckland death
The following day the body was identified as that of Ms Reyes. An autopsy has been performed but the cause of her death has yet to be released.
Norma Sanchez, Ms Reyes' mother, said her daughter had become paranoid in the days leading up to her disappearance. She had suffered from anxiety and depression for some time, but it had recently worsened to the point where she was afraid to be alone in her own apartment.
"She was very scared, very frightened," Ms Sanchez told The Journal News.
She said that during their last phone call, her daughter made a chilling remark: "I'm afraid someone is going to murder me."
Ms Sanchez tried to find out exactly what Ms Reyes was frightened of, but said she didn't mention anyone or anything specific.
She had broken up with her boyfriend a few days earlier, but told her mother she wasn't scared of him.
"We wonder, 'Who made her feel this way?'" Ms Sanchez said.
No arrests have been made in relation to Ms Reyes' death, but an investigation is ongoing.
Newshub.
