WEST NEW YORK —Jorge Calan, 43, of 58th Street in West New York, was arrested Friday morning and charged with the murder of Maria Gutierrez Cabrera who was found dead on Feb. 28 in a vacant apartment across from her own unit on Buchanan Place.
Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory said that Calan, who is from Guatemala, is awaiting indictment. Gregory said he has been told that Calan may be an illegal immigrant but that information is not yet confirmed.
The Prosecutor’s Office is not yet releasing information on any motive or connection between Calan and Gutierrez Cabrera.
Autopsy reports showed the 30-year old mother of two was strangled to death, but investigators found no broken bones or outward indication of physical injury.
Cabrera was fully clothed when her body was discovered and there was no indication that she was robbed or sexually assaulted. No drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the apartment where her body was found.
Her body was found by her boyfriend. The boyfriend then contacted her aunt, who lives in another apartment in the building. The aunt then called West New York Police.
Detectives have confirmed that Cabrera had been working at a tavern in Union City the evening prior to her death. According to the prosecutor’s office, the two female co-workers who dropped her off at 2 a.m. said that she made it into the building.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that Cabrera was found on the floor near the entrance of the vacant apartment, which is across the hall from her own apartment.
The Prosecutor’s Office is not sure whether she was killed in her own apartment or whether the homicide occurred where the body was found.
While the investigation is ongoing, the Prosecutor’s Office does not anticipate any additional arrests in the matter.