Friends and family gather to remember murdered woman; her accused killer awaits trial

One year after the body of a Riverhead woman was discovered in a wooded area behind a Route 58 shopping plaza, the fate of her accused killer still hangs in the balance.

Guillermo Alvarado-Ajcuc, 22, is being held without bail at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in Riverside, awaiting trial on murder and rape charges in the strangulation death of 29-year-old Mirian Yohanna Garcia Mancilla on May 6, 2012.

Workers discovered Garcia’s body early in the morning of Monday, May 7, according to police. She was last seen late on Saturday night at Sabor Latino Restaurant. Prosecutors said Alvarado-Ajcuc strangled Garcia with his belt as he raped her in the woods behind the shopping center where Sabor Latino is located at about 2 a.m. on Sunday, May 6.

Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested Alvarado-Ajcuc on May 17 and he was indicted by a grand jury on the rape and murder charges May 24. He is represented by Riverhead attorney Eileen Powers, assigned by the court to represent the defendant, who is indigent.

Alvarado-Ajcuc pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case is currently in pre-trial hearings, Bob Clifford, spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said last week.

Pretrial hearings are held for a variety of reasons, including to determine whether evidence offered by the prosecution should be suppressed, or not allowed into the record when the case goes to trial before a jury, Clifford said.

Powers declined comment. The defendant’s next court date is May 10.

Garcia’s friends and family gathered to remember her Saturday evening at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on Middle Road in Riverhead.

Garcia’s sister, Zully Jordan, now the same age Garcia was when she died, said she was thankful for the community’s support during a difficult time.

“We’re feeling happy, really happy because we have a lot of friends with us to remember her,” she said. “It’s still hard. I still feel her around all the time.”

Elder Cabeza de Vaca, a missionary with the church, described Garcia as someone who cared for her family above all else.

“She was a really happy, loving person and she really protected her family,” he said. “Every single thing she thought about was her family. She told me once, ‘When I grow up, I want to give my nieces everything because they are my life.'”

“She was a wonderful person and a fabulous employee,” Chris Galasso, of Larry’s Lighthouse Marina, where Garcia worked, said last week. “We all miss her very much.”

The victim’s aunt, Conzuelo Garcia, told RiverheadLOCAL Thursday she hopes Garcia’s accused killer, Alvarado-Ajcuc, will remain incarcerated for the rest of his days.

She said she hopes other young women will learn from how her niece was murdered, despite being a black belt in karate who was “very strong” and “worked like a man.”

“I told a good friend of hers to please be careful,” her aunt said. “Don’t let something like this happen to you.”

She said young women should exercise caution when consuming alcohol, remembering to remain aware of their surroundings.

“We told her all the time if you want to drink, bring the beers in the house and drink it here because so when you’re feeling dizzy because you’ve had too much you’re at home,” said Garcia. “It’s not good when you’re out, you don’t know what kind of people are around you.”

Garcia said she has no doubt alcohol was a major factor in her niece’s death, because she was drinking beer with her uncle, Consuelo’s husband, at their home in Aquebogue earlier on that fateful Saturday night. The young woman was living with them at the time, she said.

“They finished the beers at 10:30 p.m. and when they were finished, she told my husband she wanted to go out and he said no,” she recounted. “After that she went to sleep, so she must have called somebody else to come to the house and take her.”

The victim did not drive, her aunt said.

Consuelo Garcia said she said she still struggles with one overwhelming regret: She wishes she had given her niece one last hug.

“Sometimes when I come into the bed, I’m wondering why did I not give a hug to her that night,” said Garcia. “I say to myself, ‘Not tonight, another day” because these things happen, but I never hugged her that night.”

Photo captions, from top: 1. The victim’s sister, Zully Jordan, greets well-wishers at Saturday evening’s memorial service for Mirian Yohanna Garcia Mancilla. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Gianna Volpe. 2. Mug shot of Guillermo Alvarado-Ajcuc. 3. Crime scene behind Route 58 shopping plaza on May 7, 2012. RiverheadLOCAL file photo by Peter Blasl. 4. Display at the memorial service held Saturday evening at a Riverhead church. RiverheadLOCAL photo by Gianna Volpe

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