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For the family of Reyna Isabel De Los Santos, a Woodhaven mother of two, missing since last June, closure surrounding her disappearance came with a terrible price when news surfaced that her remains were found stuffed into a suitcase discarded in Forest Park – now police have been forced to investigate her death as a homicide, something her family believed since the day she first disappeared.

Police reports initially classified De Los Santos’ case as a voluntary missing adult, and therefore a full homicide investigation into her disappearance was never launched until her remains were found. The father of one of her children, Edmond Fuentes has a documented history of domestic violence and police believed Reyna left the home to escape his abuse.

Visitors to Forest Park came upon the suitcase filled with her remains near Forest Lane Parkway and Park South, roughly four miles from where De Los Santos lived, police said.
Medical examiners were able to match the remains to De Los Santos based on her dental records.

Reports of domestic violence have been confirmed by De Los Santos’ cousin, Milagros Bantaleon. She also backed up reports that on at least one occasion he hit her autistic, 18 year old son, Ariel. Fuentes has since been arrested for child abuse.

Officials from the Police Department of Communications and Public Inquiry and at the 109th precinct refused to comment on whether or not Fuentes is a suspect in De Los Santos’ murder. DCPI did confirm that Fuentes was arrested and charged for abusing De Los Santos’ son on the 13th of this month.

This grisly conclusion to De Los Santos’ mysterious vanishing has raised many questions concerning her cause of death, and confirmed the family’s worst suspicions of Reyna’s ultimate fate.

News of her death was a tremendous shock for a family that always hoped she could be found alive; they fought hard, advocating for justice for their beloved family member.
Meanwhile, her family and community members keep on demanding answers, while continuing to advocate for Reyna and the safety of her two children.

From the outset of this entire saga, Councilman Hiram Monserrate (D-Corona) urged police to conduct a full homicide investigation into her disappearance and now has many questions regarding how it was handled.

Soon after she went missing, his office began working in cooperation with the Corona National Community Center, a neighborhood advocacy group assisting the De Los Santos family. From the beginning they insisted that the police move forward with a full homicide investigation and have questioned why the New York City Police Department’s initial classification deemed her a voluntary missing adult, instead of the victim of a heinous criminal act.

At a press conference confirming her death, following months of searching Monserrate said that a homicide investigation was now ongoing, and that her disappearance, and eventual death, had “caused a lot of sorrow to our community.”

“From the very beginning we understood she was the victim of a crime,” Monserrate said. “We urged the NYPD forward to see this as a crime because she would never abandon her family. Now after several months finally there was a break in the case and now everyone understands she was the victim of a homicide.”

He continued by insisting that police fully investigate the circumstances of her death, and prosecute any and all perpetrators to the “maximum extent of the law.”

Marisol De Los Santos, her sister said in a statement, which Monserrate translated that her family had been put through so much sorrow missing Reyna. “Now I believe we are on the road to peace, closing a sad chapter and beginning a new one while looking for peace for my family,” she said.

The fieriest speaker of the day was Enrique Lugo, a community advocate from the Corona National Community Center. He has been intimately involved in the case for several months, and worked in cooperation with Councilman Monserrate’s office to spread word of Reyna’s disappearance.

He spoke passionately about the dubious initial police response and said, “Police said she left, we said no way.” Among the most compelling evidence he cited that Reyna did not intend to leave permanently is the fact that she left her identification, purse and cash before departing the household following a dispute with Fuentes that June evening.

Lugo also was harshly disparaging of the police response to her disappearance, and faulted them for not acting swiftly enough to locate her.

He then went a step further and condemned police responses to disappearance of Latino women and highlighted what he sees as a prejudiced disparity in police work.

“We are dealing with a racist double standard system when a Latino woman goes missing,” he said. “We want justice for Reyna Isabel, and we demand changes to the system.”
Asked to respond to Lugo’s criticisms, Councilman Monserrate, a former police officer said, “He correctly called into question how our resources are used and how our judicial system operates.”

Several calls and e-mail messages to the Department of Communications and Pubic Inquiry requesting comment were not returned. Police officials have thus far not commented, or respond to Lugo’s criticisms or Monserrate’s remarks.
An added misfortune to the tragedy of a young woman’s life cut short is the sad fact that her children also lost their mother.

Marisol, Reyna’s sister, has since petitioned the Administration of Child Services for custody of her sister’s 10-year-old daughter, Naomi. She is currently in the custody of Edmond Fuentes’ sister.

Jesus Pena, attorney for the family of Reyna Isabel de Los Santos, filed a petition in family court on Monday calling for the custody of her daughter to be granted to sister, Marisol, and cousin, Milagros.

Councilman Monserrate who has worked with the family since Reyna Isabel’s disappearance stated, “This family continues to endure tremendous pain and hardship-the death of Reyna, the uncertainty of the well being of her children and no one as of yet charged with her murder. We urge Family Court to take immediate and decisive action to ensure that the daughter of Reyna Isabel is safe and with the family of the deceased.”