A New Jersey man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, whose body was found in an abandoned refrigerator at a state park. Christopher Blevins, 46, pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated murder in the death of Laura Hughes, 50, a mother of two.
Hughes was found wrapped in a sleeping bag and safe inside a refrigerator, covered with a rug, in the Belleplain State Forest in Cape May County on December 22, 2024. This shocking discovery came after an extensive investigation by local law enforcement.
According to authorities, Blevins strangled Hughes to death before disposing of her body in a remote area. He fled to Mexico immediately after the murder but returned to the US where he was arrested in California.
Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. McAuley praised the efforts of the New Jersey State Police and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office for their tenacity in solving the case. “Through perseverance, investigators uncovered the truth behind the death of 50-year-old Laura Hughes, leading to the conviction of Blevins,” he said in a statement.
Blevins’ actions were determined through investigative techniques, including surveillance footage from a license plate reader that showed him carrying a refrigerator in his truck at the time of Hughes’ death. During the sentencing, Hughes’ grieving partner and father of her two children, Cornell Alston, spoke against Blevins, saying, “You should never walk among free people… This death will never leave my children. They will carry it with them for the rest of their lives.”
While Blevins expressed remorse, saying through his attorney that he never intended for the incident to occur, Alston’s words echoed the long-lasting emotional impact it had on his children. “My children will never have to worry that someday their mother’s killer will walk down the same side of the sidewalk,” Alston said.
The heartbreaking case has left Hughes’ family and community grappling with the loss of a beloved mother.