December 18, 2013
Written by
Peggy Wright
dailyrecord.com

A 22-year-old former Morristown man stopped denying Wednesday that police had the wrong suspect and agreed to waive extradition to Illinois where he is wanted for the May murder and decapitation of a man who was sexually interested in his girlfriend.

Armed with a warrant from Illinois Gov. Patrick Quinn, Morris County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano was prepared to call three detectives to testify in Superior Court that Milton J. Miranda-Portillo, a former Denville bakery shop worker, is the suspect wanted for the May killing of Jose Reyes.

Instead, after conferring with defense lawyer Jessica Moses, Miranda-Portillo told Judge Stuart Minkowitz in Morristown through a Spanish-speaking interpreter that he understands he can still fight a murder charge in Chicago but is willing to waive extradition and be returned to that state. Troiano said he expects Illinois authorities to pick Miranda-Portillo up at the Morris County jail within the next 10 days.

Because he is deemed to be in the United States illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have filed a detainer against Miranda-Portillo but that detainer will be transferred to Illinois with the defendant.

Miranda-Portillo, who also uses the name Wilton Silvera and two birthdates, has lived on Ridgedale Avenue and on King Street in Morristown and last worked at a bakery in Denville. On Oct. 4 in Denville, he was charged with identity theft and impersonating another. Police then found a warrant that showed he failed to appear in court on a domestic violence charge filed in Morristown in June and determined he was wanted in the Reyes murder.

Miranda-Portillo is accused in Illinois of conspiring with his 19-year-old girlfriend, Daisy Gutierrez -- who also is the “victim” of one of his Morris County domestic violence cases -- to murder Jose Reyes on May 21 at Gutierrez's home, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune.

The decapitation victim was the brother of Gutierrez's former boyfriend, before she got involved with Miranda-Portillo. Reyes was interested in the young woman, and she and Miranda-Portillo allegedly lured him to the South Scottsdale Avenue home where Gutierrez led Reyes to her bedroom and started stripping before Miranda-Portillo kicked in the door, attacked Reyes with a pipe and knife, slit his throat and then decapitated him, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Afterward, Gutierrez called her father, who came to the house and allegedly watched Miranda-Portillo dismember the body. The father, Salvador Gutierrez, is accused of digging a hole in the backyard and burying the corpse. The victim's family searched for months, and authorities with a warrant dug up the yard and found the remains, the published report said.

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2...heading-charge