In a significant development this week, a former New York corrections officer was taken into custody for a crime that occurred over two decades ago. The crime in question is the grim murder of his ex-wife in March 1997.
Rafael Ramos, 54 years old, had been on the radar as the main suspect in the chilling murder of his ex-wife, Nusinaida Ramos, since the early 2000s. The tragedy took place in her home in Yonkers, New York, not far from the Bronx, where police discovered her lifeless body.
The disturbing facts of the case reveal that Rafael is believed to have strangled Nusinaida using a T-shirt and inflicted further physical harm, according to the district attorney for Westchester County, Miriam Rocah.
Rafael, previously employed as a corrections officer at Sing Sing, was officially arrested and charged on Wednesday. He has denied the charge of second-degree murder at his hearing and is currently detained in Westchester County jail.
Rocah did not comment on the possible motivation behind the alleged murder. However, Eva Beauchamps, Nusinaida’s sister-in-law, shared some potential insights. She mentioned that Rafael was highly upset at the time as Nusinaida was considering moving to Florida and requesting more child support.
The long-awaited arrest has brought some relief to Beauchamps, who feared the case might remain unsolved.
This case was one of two long-standing murder investigations that Rocah presented findings on last Thursday. She expressed hope that the progress made will bring some peace to the families who have been waiting for justice for a total of 36 years.
Christopher Sapienza, the Yonkers Police Commissioner, commended the persistent work of the Yonkers Police Cold Case detectives in these investigations.
Regrettably, Westchester County still has 135 unresolved murder cold cases. To tackle these, Rocah established the Cold Case Bureau in 2021. The Bureau’s efforts were further bolstered when they were selected for a grant from the Department of Justice in 2022, providing resources for an additional full-time ADA to handle cases where the suspect’s DNA has been identified.
Westchester County officials are urging anyone with information related to any open homicide case to reach out to the DA’s Office.