A Queens man has been charged with murder and other offenses in connection with the death of Seraphina Pereira, a mother who was reported missing and later found shot dead in a shallow grave. Rogelio Lozano-Garita, 26, was arrested Monday.
Pereira, 35, was last seen alive on Oct. 19 with Lozano-Garita at her Rockaway Beach apartment. She was reported missing on that same day. Her decomposing body was discovered on the night of Oct. 24 in a pit at Rockaway Community Park in Edgemere, wrapped in a blanket.
The city’s medical examiner ruled Pereira’s death a homicide, citing gunshot wounds to the head, neck, and torso.
Investigators reportedly obtained surveillance footage showing Lozano-Garita pushing a wagon containing large garbage bags out of Pereira’s apartment building approximately two hours after the pair were last seen together. Sources also indicated that video showed him dragging the wagon into a wooded area at Beach 58th Street and Almeda Avenue.
Lozano-Garita faces charges including murder, criminal possession of a weapon, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence. Law enforcement sources identified Lozano-Garita as the father of Pereira’s youngest child. His arraignment was pending as of Tuesday.