A Salem, Mass., man allegedly murdered his girlfriend inside the residence they shared with their two young children and lived with the body for three days before discarding the woman’s remains in a dumpster under the cover of darkness.
Pablo Vicente, 33, allegedly confessed to police that he choked 20-year-old Nayeli Nieves to death during an argument, which unfolded after the boyfriend claimed the victim cheated on him, according to WCVB. The suspect claimed that Nieves, the mother of his 3-year-old and 9-month-old children, fell unconscious when he choked her while trying to grab her phone, the report said. The Salem Police Department reportedly said Vicente claimed to have unsuccessfully attempted CPR, lived with the victim’s corpse in the Pope Street residence for three days in the presence of their kids, and then discarded the body when the decomposing remains became “stinky.”
“Vicente states that Nieves began to get ‘stinky’ so he wrapped her in bed sheets and carpet and disposed of her in a dumpster on the property,” said the police report, per WCVB.
Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said his office got involved in the investigation after Salem Police received a report on Monday that Nieves had been harmed. The DA’s office “developed further evidence of foul play” from there, the press release said.
Investigators are still searching for the victim’s remains, the DA said.
Nayeli Nieves, 20. (WBZ/screengrab)
Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller reportedly called the search active.
“We are actively searching. We have found what I would call evidence, but I don’t want to say whether that is her,” Miller said, WCVB reported.
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One reported piece of evidence is video outside the residence from just before 4 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 6, allegedly showing the defendant using a dolly to dispose of “a large, human-sized item wrapped in what appeared to be plastic trash bags with duct tape around it.”
That dumpster was picked up later that day, before cops could examine it, The Salem News reported.
Those who knew the couple said that Vicente was abusive. Nieves’ sister-in-law Janessa Sosa said that as recently as April 2023 Vicente faced domestic assault and battery charges in Lowell District Court but was released from custody.
“All I have to say is, if Lowell would’ve done their job and kept Pablo in custody where he belonged, Nayeli probably would still be here today,” Sosa said, according to The Salem News. “Domestic violence now, in this world, isn’t being treated the way it should be, and mothers — especially young moms of little children — need to be watched and taken care of.”
“The system didn’t do what it was supposed to do,” she reportedly added. “It didn’t do its job.”
Nieves’ children are in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, WBZ reported.
Vicente appeared in Salem District Court for an arraignment on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. He has pleaded not guilty.
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