Christopher Blevins pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter
A court in New Jersey has handed down a prison sentence to a man convicted in the death of his girlfriend. Authorities say the case shocked the community after the woman’s body was discovered inside an abandoned refrigerator in a state park.
Authorities said Christopher Blevins, 46, strangled 50-year-old mother of two Laura Hughes to death before he placed her body in the refrigerator and dumped it in Belleplain State Forest in Cape May County, NJ.com reported.
Her body was discovered wrapped in a sleeping bag inside the refrigerator, which was secured by straps and covered with a rug on Dec. 22, 2024, according to the Cherry Hill Courier Post, citing probable cause statements.
Blevins allegedly fled to Mexico shortly after the killing before he returned to the U.S., where he was arrested in California, NBC 10 reported.
“We must commend our partners at the New Jersey State Police and Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office for their steadfast investigative work in State v. Christopher Blevins,” Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay said in a statement. “Through persistence, investigators uncovered the truth behind the death of 50-year-old Laura Hughes, whose remains were discovered in Belleplain State Forest, leading to Blevins’ guilty plea. Their professionalism and commitment resulted in the defendant being held accountable.”
In October 2025, he pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, according to WPVI.
According to the Courier Post, a license plate reader caught Blevins’ pickup truck carrying what appeared to be a refrigerator around the time of the murder.
Cornel Alston, the father of Hughes’ two children, spoke out during Blevins’ sentencing on Friday, March 6.
“Although there is no amount of time that will bring [Hughes] back, you should never be able to walk among the free,” Alston said, according to NJ.com. “This death will never be off my children. They will carry this the rest of their lives.
“My kids should never have to worry about someday, their mother’s killer will walk down the same side of the sidewalk,” he added, per the outlet.
In a statement read by his attorney, Blevins apologized for the “suffering I’ve caused,” according to NJ.com. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I do not know why it happened. I wish I could do things differently, in that I just left.”
