Ex-boyfriend pleads guilty in death of slain NJ mom

UNION COUNTY, NJ (PIX11) — A New Jersey dad pleaded guilty Monday in the death of his ex-girlfriend.

Tyler Rios pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter and desecration of human remains in the death of 27-year-old Yasemin Uyar. A manhunt for Rios was launched in July of 2021 when police said he abducted his 2-year-old son.

Rios was found in Monterey, Tennessee with the toddler. Officers found Uyar’s body, naked from the waist down, in a duffel bag in a wooded area nearby later on that day, according to the criminal complaint. Uyar died of strangulation and blunt force trauma.

Uyar’s mother, Karen Uyar, told PIX11 News that Rios and her daughter had known each other since high school, but they hadn’t been a couple since shortly after their son was born. She said her daughter had been assaulted by Rios multiple times and had a restraining order against him.

“We tried really hard to get Yasemin to leave him but she was trying to coparent with him and he often thought they were getting back together,” she said.

Rios's sentencing was tentatively scheduled for June 10. Prosecutors will request a term of 25 years in state prison on the aggravated manslaughter charge along with a five-year term on the desecration count to run consecutive to the manslaughter charge.