A Salem man charged with murdering his girlfriend allegedly admitted to choking her to death over her alleged infidelity and then throwing her body into a dumpster.
Pablo Vicente, 33, of Salem, appeared in Salem District Court Tuesday where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf for the charge of murdering Nayeli Nieves, 20. Judge Holly Broadbent held Vicente without bail and set a probable cause hearing for Sept. 8.
“Like any homicide, there’s a great deal of investigation that needs to be done, even where we know who the perpetrator is,” Salem Police Chief Lucas Miller said following the arraignment. “The prevalence of domestic violence is really something that keeps me up at night and claims too many lives.”
The investigation got underway when members of Vicente’s extended family contacted the Lynn PD to say that Vicente had admitted to killing Nieves and disposing of her body in a dumpster at the Salem Heights apartment complex, 12 Pope St., where Nieves lived, according to a police report. The Lynn Police then shared this information with the Salem Police.
“Once it appeared that this was more than simply a disappearance, they contacted the state police detectives from my office, and then the investigation went from there,” Essex DA Paul Tucker said following the arraignment.
A search of the complex’s dumpsters on Monday did not turn up evidence, according to the report. A search continued Tuesday and was ongoing as Miller and Tucker gave their remarks.
Miller said the police are “actively searching” and have located “evidence” that he believes to be human remains, but that needs to be confirmed.
Vicente gave an interview with Salem Police shortly after 11 p.m. Monday in which he allegedly shared a story of the couple’s tumultuous relationship,” which included a history of domestic violence, according to the police report. Vicente said that she would “routinely cheat on him with other men” and said that she had run off with one of them, leaving him and the children behind.
The children, ages 3 years and 18 months, are in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families, according to the DA’s office.
Vicente allegedly admitted to choking Nieves during a fight over “content of her phone which he stated again confirmed she was cheating.”
“Vicente maintained that he was so focused on Nieves’ phone, he did not realize she lost consciousness a third and final time,” the police report states. “After a period of approximately three days, Vicente stated that Nieves began to get ‘stinky’ so he wrapped her in bed sheets and carpet and disposed of her in a dumpster on the property.”
The report notes the children were present for both their mother’s death and those three following days.
The report also notes there is surveillance footage of Vicente carting “a large human sized item … in the direction of a large dumpster” just before 4 a.m. Sunday.
“I think it may give the family some comfort that we have a person in custody, but there is so much more work to be done,” Tucker said.
The DA’s office said that anyone experiencing domestic violence should call any of these hotlines: SafeLink, 877-785-2020; HAWC, 1-800-547-1649; YWCA, 844-372-9922; and the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, 978-388-1888.