Ridgewood Murder Victim Mourned

The murder of young Liliana Alvarez cast a sorrowful pall over not only her family and friends, but also among the entire Queens Hispanic community as her funeral was held last week.
The case also highlights the necessity of alerting the community about the disturbing increase of domestic violence and its sometimes fatal consequences.
During an exclusive interview with The Queens Courier, the sister and cousin of the victim, Wendy and Maria Diaz, respectively, stated that the victim’s boyfriend and alleged killer, Felix Tavarez, threatened her verbally several times, and actually broke Wendy’s nose just a few short months before Liliana’s murder. However, Alvarez asked her sister not to file charges against him.
The family also stated that Alvarez lost a baby because Tavarez pushed her on one occasion.
The case garnered citywide attention when Tavarez ran away to Santo Domingo the morning of the murder but was arrested and sent back to New York the next day.
The case then took an even more bizarre twist when, according to the victim’s cousin, Maria Diaz, Tavarez was in prison awaiting his appearance in court to face charges of murder in the second degree and illegal possession of a gun, and took time out to call the family and ask what happened to Liliana.
But none of that mattered on March 10 at Alvarez’ funeral. It was a time for shared memories and sorrow.
One friend of the victim, who preferred not to give his name, said, “Liliana was somebody who spoke straight from the heart — it was easy for her to talk to people with a smile on her face. I guess that made her boyfriend jealous.”
Many signs of support were displayed during the funeral. Some of the cars that were rolling along with the hearse carrying Alvarez’ body on their way to the cemetery had the words “Liliana we love you” written on the windows.
The atmosphere of sadness gave way to one sole request issued by Liliana’s family, and that’s “justice.” They believe that is now in the hands of the courts.
Alvarez leaves behind Marilaci, her three-year-old daughter.
elcorreo@queenscourier.com