SOUTH BRONX — The Bronx man accused of murdering his still-missing girlfriend and putting her body in a Dumpster pleaded not guilty to the crime in court on Tuesday.
Miguel Bonilla, 44, killed his 53-year-old girlfriend, Juana Alvarez, after the two got into a violent argument, although the exact date of her death is unknown, law enforcement sources said.
Bonilla appeared in court wearing a brown jumpsuit and holding a copy of the Stephen King novel "Finders Keepers," which focuses on the murder of author John Rothstein by his deranged fan Morris Bellamy.
Bonilla did not speak during his appearance apart from uttering "not guilty," and he is due back in court on Dec. 12.
Alvarez was reported missing on Aug. 9, and a friend of Bonilla's told police on Aug. 22 that Bonilla had told him he murdered his girlfriend, according to law enforcement sources.
Bonilla was arrested that same day for jumping a turnstile at Eighth Avenue and 34th Street in Manhattan and told police, "the detectives probably want to talk to me about a homicide," according to court documents.
Surveillance footage shows Alvarez going into the building where she and Bonilla lived at 1460 Grand Concourse and Bonilla leaving a few days later with a heavy looking object in a bag and a shopping cart that seems to be dripping blood, sources said.
