Brick Woman Gets 45 Years in Prison for Murdering Wife With Wine Chiller

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus (Photo: Ocean County Jail)

A sentence has been handed down in the Brick Township “wine chiller murder” case that began with a dispute between spouses in May 2020.

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus, 49, of Brick, was sentenced Thursday to 45 years in state prison for the killing of her wife, Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus, which occurred sometime between May 16-17, 2020 at the couple’s Creek Road home. Investigators determined Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus had used a wine chilling device as the murder weapon.

Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus was found guilty of murder on Sept. 29, 2022, following a nearly three-week jury trial before Superior Court Judge Rochelle Gizinski, who handed down the sentence this week. The jury also found Gavilanez-Alectus guilty of possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.

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The investigation into the slaying began after Brick police were called to a Creek Road residence on May 17, 2020 for a report of an “unresponsive female.” Upon arrival, officers found the lifeless body of Rebecca Gavilanez-Alectus in an upstairs bedroom of the residence. The following day, the Ocean County Medical Examiner performed a post-mortem examination of the victim’s body, and determined the manner of her death to be a homicide.

Brick and county detectives, plus the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department, conducted an investigation that would reveal both the victim and the defendant resided at the Creek Road address, and that the wine chiller was the murder weapon. But by this time, Mayra Gavilanez-Alectus had fled to Texas. She was caught three days later by Houston, Tex. police.

Senior Assistant Prosecutor Meghan O’Neill and Assistant Prosecutor Kaitlyn Burke handled the case for the prosecution.