Jersey City Man Charged With Murder After Woman's Body Found In Lincoln Park Lake
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A New Jersey man was charged with murder Sunday, one week after his alleged victim's body was pulled from a lake at Lincoln Park.
Jorge Rios, 33, was also charged with sexual assault and kidnapping in the death of 45-year-old Carolina Cano. Police said she'd been strangled and held under the water.
Kathleen Carroll is the victim's neighbor.
"Thank God they found him so he doesn't do it to someone else," Carroll said.
Cano had been out for an early morning run in the park when authorities allege Rios took her life. Her roommates and friends described the victim as a kind, spiritual, church-going woman who came here from Lima, Peru, and worked as a nanny for a family in Paterson, CBS2's Scott Rapoport reported.
"Always, always with God. She was a religious person," friend Fernando Vidal said.
MORE: Police: Woman Found In Lincoln Park Lake Victim Of Homicide
News of an arrest in the case quickly made its way to Lincoln Park, the scene of the crime.
"It's terrible," runner Armando Martinez said.
Martinez, who often frequents the park, choked back tears as he spoke about the tragedy.
"I ... I ... I can't even imagine what her family and friends are going through," Martinez said.
"That's devastating for her. ... It's a devastating loss," runner Amy Jacobs added.
Friends of Cano said they didn't recognize Rios as anyone she knew when they saw his photo. Police did not provide any more information about the motive behind the murder.
Rios is being held at the Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny.