This week, Rafael Ramos, a 54-year-old former New York corrections officer, was apprehended in connection to the 1997 slaying of his ex-wife, Nusinaida Ramos. Westchester County officials found Nusinaida’s body in her Yonkers, New York, home, with signs of tension evident in her bludgeoned corpse.
At a press conference on Thursday, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah revealed that Ramos had reportedly choked her with a T-shirt and then beaten her. He pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder as he faced his arraignment and now awaits his trial, held in the Westchester County jail.
Describing the possible motive for the alleged crime, Eva Beauchamps, Nusinaida’s sister-in-law, told the Journal News that Ramos became “extremely angry” when Nusinaida wanted to increase child support and considered relocating to Florida. Beauchamps stated that she thought she was going to “the grave with nothing ever happening in this case”, a sentiment that reflects the distress of one who has experienced the loss of a “vibrant and beautiful sister-in-law”.
On the same day, Rocah additionally announced the sentencing of the man convicted of killing Pamela Graddick in 2012, wishing for the families of those exploited “some measure of closure after a combined 36 years of unresolved cases”. Furthermore, Yonkers Police Commissioner Christopher Sapienza saluted Yonkers Cold Case detectives for their committed efforts towards both investigations.
Rocah established a Cold Case Bureau upon taking office in 2021. Upholding her ambitions, the Bureau received a Department of Justice grant of $500,000, spread over a span of three years, to fund an additional full-time ADA and further prosecutorial action in cases involving DNA results.
In light of the progress made, there are still 135 unsolved cold cases around Westchester County. If you hold any information pertaining to an open homicide case, you can reach out to the DA’s Office 24-hour tips line at (914) 995-TIPS anytime. Language assistance is available.