Josefina Cepeda, 24, was found strangled near the 207th Street crossing over the Harlem River in northern Manhattan in late summer 1981. Her death was described in later accounts as part of a pattern of violent attacks that year characterized by strangulation and binding; one recurring detail in retellings is an approach that began with a seemingly ordinary offer of cheap designer jeans.

Police arrested Jesus Aguilera in February 1982 and after custodial interrogations gave written and videotaped statements admitting to two killings, including the Manhattan homicide identified in reports as Cepeda’s. He was indicted in both Bronx and Manhattan cases; the Bronx trial resulted in a conviction first, and the Manhattan prosecution went through a mistrial followed by a retrial that ended in conviction. An appellate dispute over the admissibility of his statements later returned the Manhattan case to court for further proceedings.

Reports tie Cepeda’s killing to Aguilera’s broader crime spree after his arrival in the United States during the Mariel-era migration, and later reporting links other 1981 murders to him through preserved evidence. Does anyone have information about Josefina’s last known movements or witnesses from northern Manhattan in 1981?