What Happened to Kristen? Las Vegas Police Seek Answers After Woman Found Dead in Luggage

Mar. 15, 2025

Kristen Avelar in a Facebook profile picture posted Oct. 2, 2023.Photo:Las Vegas Metropolitan Police/Youtube

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police/Youtube

Las Vegas Metropolitan police received a call about a “possible deceased person” in Paradise, Nev., around 4:19 a.m. Oct. 3.

Arriving in the unincorporated town – known for the iconic miles-long Las Vegas Strip that runs through it – officers found a woman’s limp body stuffed inside “a luggage bag near an apartment complex,” around Spencer Street and East Reno Avenue, police said in apress releasethis week.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office identified the body as that of 46-year-old Kristen Avelar.

Stephanie Wheatley of the coroner’s office said that the cause and manner of Avelar’s death are still pending, adding that the autopsy would likely take up to 90 days to complete.

Kristen Avelar.Las Vegas Metropolitan Police/Youtube

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up forPEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletterfor breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.The homicide section has taken over the investigation, based on what police call “the suspicious nature of her death.”

Las Vegas Metropolitan police did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional information on the investigation and updates on any potential suspects.

On her Facebook account, Avelar – who provided no public relationship status and said she lived in Las Vegas – described herself as a homemaker in an update to her profile on Sept. 30, 2023.

In an undated note on her page, she wrote: “Another day with [rainbows] and butterflies! Make the best of what you have to work with!”

source: people.com