Wine-chiller Killer Wife From Brick, NJ, Faces Life in Prison
A 49-year-old Brick woman was found guilty of murdering her wife and now faces life in prison.
An Ocean County jury returned a verdict after less than two hours following a nearly three-week jury trial of Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, who was accused of killing Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus sometime between May 16 and May 17, 2020.
The jury also found Gavilanez-Alectus guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose an unlawful possession of a weapon.
Specifically, the jury determined that the woman was guilty of using a cylindrical container used to chill wine in carrying out the murder.
In May 2020, Brick police were summoned to a residence on Creek Road for a report of an unresponsive female.
Police found the body of Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus in an upstairs bedroom. The Ocean County Medical Examiner determined the manner of death to be a homicide.
The investigation revealed that a wine chiller was used to kill the woman. The injuries she sustained were consistent with the implementation of this item, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer.
Police arrested Gavilanez-Alectus in Houston, Texas.
Gavilanez-Alectus was extradited to New Jersey and has been held in the Ocean County jail ever since.
She is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 17.