New Jersey officials said that they have identified the woman whose remains were found inside a refrigerator in New Jersey’s Belleplain State Park on Dec. 22, 2024 and, they said, her boyfriend has surrendered to the police for his suspected connection to her death. According to police, the remains belonged to Laura Hughes, a 50-year-old mother of two from Runnemede, New Jersey. Members of Hughes family, who spoke to NBC10’s Yukare Nakayama, said the woman moved to New Jersey from North Carolina about two years ago to be closer to her daughters and repair the relationships she had with them. But, the time to mend those bonds was ended too soon. “At first, it was a shock mainly,” said Jase Alston, Hughes’ daughter. “I didn’t want to believe it at first but, then it settled in and it was just a lot.” Alston said that she’s still trying to wrap her head around it all after investigators identified her mother’s remains after they were discovered stuffed into a refrigerator that was found in the Belleplain State Forest in December. The last time she saw her mother alive, Alston said, was her graduation in June. “She seemed to be fine. It was my graduation so everyone was a little bit emotional,” said Alston. “There was nothing wrong. Ryan wasn’t there, it was just her.” The “Ryan,” who Alston mentioned, was her mother’s boyfriend and, according to police, he was also known as Christopher Blevins. Police officials claim Blevins may have transported Hughes’ remains into the state forest in Cape May County. According to police officials, cameras in New Jersey captured Blevins’ green Dodge Ram transporting, what looked to be, a refrigerator, in August just a few days before he fled to Mexico. Blevins, police officials said, turned himself into police in Mexico City a few weeks later and, allegedly, told officers there that he was involved in a “violent incident” in Runnemede, NJ, before he came to Mexico and he “may have killed someone in a bar fight.” However, police have not yet charged anyone in Hughes’ death. For Alston, a lot of questions remain. But, she’s trying to focus on the positive things and the good times she had with her mother. “She was a good person at heart no matter what struggles we went through with her…” said Alston. Also, officials said, another man, John Tyrrell, who police claim found Hughes’ remains, is facing charges in this case. Police officials said Tyrrell did not turn his cell phone over to the police. Blevins is awaiting extradition to New Jersey, officials said. Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.