Authorities: Husband May Have Used Meat Mallet to Kill Wife Found in Chatham

An Elizabeth man accused of killing his wife whose body was found in a vacant Chatham Township home pleaded not guilty this week.

Abayuba Rivas, 39, pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder in the death of Karla Jose Villagra-Garzon, 32, who was found last Tuesday night inside an abandoned Southern Boulevard home.

Authorities allege Rivas may have used a meat mallet to beat Villagra-Garzon to death, according to NJ.com. Villagra-Garzon died of asphyxiation along with blunt-force trauma.

Authorities allege Rivas entered the Southern Boulevard home by smashing a window on the back door, according to NJ.com. Authorities have not said whether Villagra-Garzon was killed inside the home nor what led them to the residence.

Rivas was familiar with the Chatham Township neighborhood since he often picked up donated clothing along Southern Boulevard.

Rivas reported his wife missing the morning after she disappeared on the night of Feb. 23, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said. Villagra-Garzon, a mother of a 2-year-old child, left the couple's East Jersey Street home in Elizabeth to walk to a nearby pharmacy and never returned, according to the prosecutor's office.

Rivas, who authorities said was originally cooperative in the investigation, eventually became a prime suspect. He was in custody—charged with child endangerment for allegedly leaving his daughter home alone and hindering apprehension for allegedly lying to police—when his wife's body was found last week.