By: Richard L. Smith
A Runnemede man has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of his girlfriend, authorities announced.
According to Camden County Prosecutor Grace C. MacAulay, New Jersey State Police Colonel Patrick J. Callahan, and Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey Sutherland, Christopher Blevins, 45 is facing a first-degree murder charge for the death of 50-year-old Laura Hughes, also of Runnemede.
The investigation began on December 22, 2024, when authorities discovered a woman's body inside a refrigerator in Belleplain State Forest, located in Cape May County.
The victim was later identified as Hughes.
Following an extensive probe by the New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit – South and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit, Blevins was initially charged on January 3, 2025, with second-degree desecration of human remains and third-degree hindering apprehension in Cape May County.
Authorities later tracked Blevins to San Diego, California, where he was taken into custody on January 13, 2025, He was being held in a local correctional facility at the time of his arrest.
On January 29, 2025, Blevins was officially charged with first-degree murder in Camden County.
He remains in custody in California, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
The investigation was conducted with assistance from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit.