A New Jersey man was arrested in Tennessee for allegedly kidnapping his 2-year-old son, prosecutors said Saturday — as the boy’s mother was found dead.
Tyler Rios, 27, is accused of abducting both little Sebastian Rios and the boy’s mom, 24-year-old Yasemin Uyar, of Rahway, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Authorities issued an Amber Alert on Friday afternoon after the tot didn’t show up for daycare and his mom didn’t arrive to a scheduled work shift.
Prosecutors said they found the child Saturday in Monterey, Tenn., where his dad was nabbed.
Uyar’s body was found the same day in a wooded area off the interstate, authorities said.
Her mother, Karen Uyar, claimed Rios had told authorities where the body was, NJ.com reported.
She recalled her daughter as a “great mom” who struggled with an abusive relationship.
“She wanted to be independent, to spend time with Sebastian, help him find friends. She wanted what every mother wants for her child,” her mom told NJ.com.
Her mom urged people following the news of her daughter’s death to “please remember she wasn’t just a [domestic violence] victim.”
“She was a daughter, sister, mother, aunt and cousin. Her life will be celebrated as her greatest gift to this world,” she wrote on Facebook.
Yasemin had been involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with Rios since high school, and friends said she had a restraining order against him, CBS New York reported.
“Typical textbook case of domestic violence. Progressively got worse and this is where it’s ending,” Robyn Morris told the news station.
Rios, who is from Highland Park, was previously charged with aggravated assault and strangulation of a domestic violence victim and theft in 2018, NJ.com reported.
He was sentenced to 180 days in jail on the domestic violence assault charge as part of a plea agreement, while the theft and strangulation charges were dismissed, the outlet reported.
Court documents don’t identify his victim, but he was ordered not to have contact with them and undergo anger management courses.
Rios remained in custody in Tennessee on Sunday pending extradition to the Garden State.