What to Know
- A man who has been arrested in the death of a 45-year-old NJ nanny who was found in a lake at a park will face a judge Thursday
- The victim was identified as Carolina Cano; her Jersey City roommate told News 4 she went out around 5:30 a.m. and never came back
- Cano's alleged attack was a stranger to her, the city's mayor said; parks in Jersey City will have increased security as a precaution
The man accused of kidnapping and strangling a nanny with a cellphone cord before dumping her body in a lake in New Jersey last month will face a judge Thursday.
Jorge Rios, 33, of Jersey City, faces a detention hearing in the killing of 45-year-old Carolina Cano, a nanny for a family in Passaic County who was found dead March 24 in the lake in Lincoln Park. Rios is in the country without proper legal authorization, law enforcement sources said.
Rios was being held at Hudson County Correctional Facility in Kearny on charges of murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping. Information on an attorney for him wasn't immediately available.
The medical examiner determined Cano's "cause of death was homicidal violence including strangulation and water submersion and the manner of death was homicide," according to the complaint filed against Rios. The complaint also reveals that Cano was strangled with a cellphone charger cord.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop called the death of Cano a "stranger on stranger attack." Investigators said Cano, who was wearing sneakers at the time, did not appear to be in the water long.
Security was stepped up in the park in the wake of the killing.
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Cano's roommate told News 4 that the dead woman's entire family lives in Peru and that she and they were absolutely devastated by her death.
The lake where Cano was found is surrounded by running trails, roads and tennis courts.
Investigators said surveillance video was crucial in making the arrest.
According to the complaint, surveillance footage captured an individual entering the park around 5:10 a.m. March 24, around the area of the "south side of the pond," the same area where Cano's body was eventually found.
A few minutes after entering the park, the same individual is seen walking up the stairs from the pond, the complaint says. Footage also captures the victim jogging past the suspect.
According to the complaint, "the male observes the victim and proceeds to walk behind her. Upon approaching the football parking lot, the victim is seen running with the male running directly behind her. The male is seen continuing south, stopping, turning to look behind him towards the victim, and then running in the same direction as the victim. The male exits the park the same way he entered and exits."
Multiple witnesses eventually identified Rios from a photo still, according tot the complaint, which also alleges Rios is the individual in the surveillance footage in Lincoln Park and the surrounding areas.
