"One of the hardest days is having to sit your two daughters down and let them know that they found your mother," recalled Cornel Alston, of Gloucester City.
It was late December when Alston got the news that his ex-girlfriend, 50-year-old Laura Hughes, was found dead. He has two daughters with her.
"She was robbed from my kids. My daughter, she'll never see her graduate from college," Alston said in an interview with Action News on Friday.
Police say Hughes was found dead on December 22. Her body was inside a refrigerator that had been dumped in Belleplain State Forest in Dennis Township.
Hughes' most recent boyfriend, Christopher Ryan Blevins, is charged with unlawfully moving her body and leaving it in the woods. But no one has been charged with her death.
According to court documents, police used license plate reader data to track Blevins' vehicle. On July 24 and 25, photos allegedly show his truck with what appears to be a refrigerator in the back.
Police say he fled to Mexico in August and later surrendered to authorities there. Alston has issues with this timeline, saying he saw Hughes in court related to a child support issue on August 22.
He knows the case has garnered a lot of interest from the public. Still, he hopes people will be respectful.
"Don't spread lies. And yes the timeline seems messed up, but we don't know. The investigation is still ongoing," Alson said.
Hughes' oldest daughter, Jasé, says her relationship with her mother was loving but complicated as she struggled with alcoholism. Still, she wants answers and justice.
"What I really want at the end of this is for him to be sent to prison. For him to be charged," said Jasé Alston.
Despite turning himself in in Mexico, Action News has learned that Blevins is not in custody.
U.S. Marshals are actively working with New Jersey State Police to locate him.