Mom-of-two found stuffed in abandoned refrigerator as cops hunt her boyfriend after he fled to Mexico

A mother was found stuffed in a refrigerator and dumped in a New Jersey forest five months after her boyfriend fled to Mexico.

Laura Hughes, 50, was found on December 22 in Belleplain State Forest in Cape May in southern New Jersey, but her remains were not identified until Thursday.

Hughes’ body was wrapped in a sleeping bag, tied with blue straps and covered with carpet, along with a green yoga mat.

She is survived by two daughters, Jase, 18, and Iridessa, 13, who lived elsewhere in the state with their father.

Hughes’ boyfriend, Christopher Blevins, 45, allegedly dumped her body in the park on July 24 and then fled across the southern border near Brownsville, Texas, on August 2.

Blevins was recorded driving into Mexico in the same green Dodge Ram where he is said to have been seen transporting a “refrigerator-shaped object” on two days in late July.

“It was determined that the green pickup was operated solely by Blevins,” court documents alleged.

Blevins later surrendered to police in Mexico City on August 27 and was interviewed about why he was in Mexico – although it was not clear why.

He reportedly told police he “panicked” and fled after a “violent incident” in Runnemede, New Jersey, where he lived.

He then said he might have “killed someone in a bar fight.”

Blevins was released and Hughes was not found for another four months, with his connection to her death unknown to police.

But he quickly became a suspect after a passerby came across the refrigerator in the woods and looked inside.

A search of his apartment turned up blue belts, a gun and other evidence linking him to the dumping of Hughes’ body.

He was charged with disturbing and desecrating human remains and hindering apprehension, but so far he appears to still be on the run as police continue to search for him.

Hughes’ cause of death also remains under investigation by homicide detectives, and no murder charges have been announced.

Local man John Tyrrell found her body and led police to it, but was arrested and charged with obstruction after refusing to hand over his phone.

New Jersey State Police shared images of Hughes’ two tattoos and a fake image of them on a woman’s back as they tried to identify the body.

The tattoos included a koi fish tattoo on the upper right side of her back (shoulder blade area) and a rose tattoo on her left ribs, extending from her chest to her hip.

Police also posted photos of her necklace – a metal disk with a star indented into it – and the yoga mat with a striking green pattern.

Three days later, on New Year’s Day, her ex-husband Cornel Alston shared the news of her death on Facebook, after a friend recognized the tattoos and necklace and alerted police.

“As many of you are ringing in the New Year with good vibes and celebrations, I had to inform my children that this missing woman is their mother and change their lives forever,” he wrote.

“The senseless act deprives (sic) my children of their mother.”

Hughes had not seen much of her children because she lived in Danville, Virginia, and Alston in White Plains, New York.

When he moved to New Jersey in early 2023, Hughes saw an opportunity to be closer to her children.

Hughes and Blevins lived with Alston for about nine months until the couple moved to Runnymede in October 2023.

‘She wanted to be close to her children. But things were difficult with her boyfriend. She was unhappy and planned to leave him,” Alston told the newspaper Daily Voice.

“It was like she was his mother; he struggled with drugs and alcohol.”

According to court documents, the couple had a history of domestic violence and drug and alcohol abuse.

Alston said he last heard from Hughes in July when she left him a voicemail, and claimed he saw her in August at a child support hearing in Camden.

This is despite police claiming Hughes was dead before the end of July, her body moved on July 24, and Blevins in Mexico on August 2.