Body found in suitcase in Hudson river ID'd as missing woman
TROY, N.Y. -- An autopsy has confirmed that a body found inside a suitcase submerged in the Hudson River near Albany is that of a 21-year-old Troy woman who went missing in November. A spokesman for the Troy police says the autopsy confirmed that the death was a homicide, and police say they have a suspect.
The Times Union of Albany reports that Noel Alkaramla's body was pulled from the river by divers on Wednesday. Dive teams have been searching the river for Alkaramla since early last month. The body was identified Thursday.
A cause of death hasn't been released.
The State Police and FBI searched Troy neighborhoods for evidence of Alkaramla at the request of Troy police before attention turned to the river. Police wouldn't say what information led them to search there, reports CBS affiliate WRGB.
Alkaramla has not been seen since a co-worker dropped her off near her home Nov. 22. The next day, a neighbor found documents with her personal information lying in a street.
The woman's stepfather, 39-year-old Johnny Oquendo, was detained early last month on a parole violation, reports the station. Police have named him a suspect, though he hasn't been charged in the death.
The Times Union reports that surveillance video showed a man taking a suitcase to a riverfront park and returning without it.
"I ask for prayers," the woman's mother, Debra Napoli-Oquendo, told the Albany Times-Union. "That's my baby. Oh my God, please, Lord please, I lost my only child."