A Brick Township woman is facing a sentence of life in prison after being found guilty of murdering her wife in May of 2020.

It was an extensive, arduous search for the arrest of 49-year-old Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus of Brick Township in 2020 when she was on the lam but law enforcement located her, extradited her back to New Jersey, charged her with Murder, and eventually indicted her leading to the guilty verdict in court last week.

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, left, was charged with murdering Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, right.
Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, left, was charged with murdering Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, right.
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Following deliberation, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said that the jury in this case "concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus purposely or knowingly caused the death of Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, or that she purposely or knowingly caused serious bodily injury to Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus which resulted in her death." 

Mayra was also found guilty of Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose and Unlawful Possession of a Weapon.

(Photo Courtesy: Ocean County Prosecutors Office)
(Photo Courtesy: Ocean County Prosecutors Office)
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Investigators estimate the murder took place sometime between May 16 and May 17 of 2020 at a home on Creek Road and that Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus killed Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus with "a cylindrical container used for the purpose of chilling wine in the commission of the murder."

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Brick Police were first on the scene after a call came in about an unresponsive woman and they found Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus dead in an upstairs bedroom from a homicide as determined the following day by the Ocean County Medical Examiner. 

Mayra-Gavilanez-Alectus1
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A multi-jurisdictional investigation run in point by the OCPO Major Crimes Unit, Brick Police Detectives, and the OCSO-CSI Unit confirmed the cause of death and identified Mayra as their suspect, who at this point had fled the state.

Mayra was found a couple of days later in Houston, Texas where she was placed in custody and detained until she could be extradited back to Ocean County, New Jersey.

Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
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She remains in the Ocean County Jail.

Prosecutor Billhimer said that Ocean County Senior Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill and Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke’s tried the case on behalf of the State.

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