Further investigation turned up an identification — Christopher Blevins, 45, of New Jersey — and a criminal warrant connected to a case of a missing woman back east.
A fire on the beach in OB seems relatively innocent enough, typically, but when police stopped by recently to check out what they called an illegal beach fire, they made a shocking discovery.
Two men were kicking sand on the flames when officers from the Western Division Beach Team approached early one morning last month, SDPD posted on Wednesday on Instagram, and were also trying to conceal containers of alcohol.
One of the men, who the officers said they recognized, was arrested on drug charges, police said, but his companion gave them some sort of fake ID and was subsequently taken into custody.
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WATCH HEREFurther investigation of the man turned up an identification — Christopher Blevins, 45, of New Jersey — and a criminal warrant.
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SIGN UP It turns out that the New Jersey native had been charged on Jan. 3 with second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension in Cape May County, prosecutors said.
And now, you can add first-degree murder to that.
U.S. & World
Three days before Christmas, a woman's body was found dumped in a refrigerator in the Belleplain State Forest in Cape May County on Dec. 22, 2024. At first, police were unable to identifiy the corpse and issued a computer-generated image of tattoos in an effort to identify her, NBC 10 Philadelphia reported, as well as a photo of a yoga mat and a piece of jewelry found on the body.
Investigators later determined that the deceased woman was Blevins' 50-year-old girlfriend, Laura Hughes, of Runnemede, New Jersey.
After Hughes was identified, detectives ID'd Belvins as a suspect, learning that the couple had a history of domestic violence, as well and drug and alcohol abuse. A search of the couple's apartment turned up a gun, blue ratchet straps and a calendar that had an "X" on every date of the year up till July 24, the same day license-plate reading cameras in New Jersey spotted Blevins driving his green Dodge Ram with a large white object under a cover in the bed of the pickup. More LPR video showed him driving around the next day with the object, but, following that date, it was gone.
The appliance was wrapped in a sleeping bag and secured with blue ratchet straps and covered with a carpet, according to a criminal complaint filed against Blevins.
Investigators said Blevins fled to Mexico afterward, crossing the border on Aug. 2 in the Dodge pickup. Later that month, on Aug. 27, police said in the criminal complaint, that Blevins turned himself in to police in Mexico City, allegedly telling officers he was involved in a "violent incident" in Runnemede before he went to Mexico and that he "may have killed someone in a bar fight."
It's not clear what happened to Blevins from that point on until police located him at that bonfire in Ocean Beach in January (NBC 7 contacted law enforcement in New Jersey regarding his whereabouts at the end of last year but was told by Sgt. Andrew McNeil, an investigator with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office that, at this time, "we will not be releasing additional information in advance of the defendant’s detention hearing in Superior Court in New Jersey."). San Diego police contacted their counterparts on the New Jersey State Police on Jan. 13, and he was eventually extradited back to New Jersey to face prosecution.
"While nothing can ever undo the pain of this tragic loss, we hope this outcome brings some measure of peace to her family and all who cared for her," Col. Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in a statement after the murder charge had been filed. "This case is a powerful reminder that no challenge is too great when agencies unite with a shared mission: to stand for victims and their families, ensuring their voices are never forgotten."
Blevins was charged with first-degree murder in Camden County, New Jersey on Jan. 29, 2024, prosecutors from that jurisdiction announced on Feb. 5, adding, later, "All individuals charged with crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
NBC10 Philadelphia's Hayden Mitman contributed to this report — Ed.
