Boyfriend charged in Gloucester Twp. murder

GLOUESTER TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- A 21-year-old Pennsauken man is accused of killing his girlfriend in his mother's Gloucester Township home.

Joshua Rivera-Santos has been charged with murder.

Police say he killed Rebecca Ugarte, 21, some time prior to 7:00 a.m. Tuesday in the home on the 100 block of Austin Avenue. Ugarte was last seen alive Monday night.

According to police, Rivera-Santos's mother noticed Ugarte lying in the basement covered in blankets, but thought the victim was asleep. She went to work, then returned home around noon Tuesday and saw Ugarte was still in the basement. She questioned Rivera-Santos about this, took the blankets off the victim and realized Ugarte was deceased. She then called police.

Police say the wire of a cell phone charger was found around Ugarte's neck.

An autopsy determined blunt trauma to the neck caused Ugarte's death.

Rivera-Santos was held on $750,000 bail in an arraignment Wednesday.