NJ native found guilty of stabbing girlfriend 17 times at Virginia campground

Jessica Schladebeck, New York Daily News on Dec 10, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A man accused of stabbing his girlfriend more than a dozen times at a Virginia campground before fleeing and hiding out in his native New Jersey has been convicted of her murder.

Romi El-Sayed, 36, was found guilty on Monday of murder and concealing a body in connection with the slaying of his 40-year-old girlfriend, Cara Abbruscato, NJ Advance Media reported.

Her body was found inside a tent at Burke Lake Park in Fairfax Station on Sept. 30, 2023. Campers stumbled upon her remains due to the smell, police said.

According to dispatch audio obtained by CBS affiliate WUSA, there were flies buzzing around the tent and Abburscato’s legs were sticking out when officers arrived on the scene. She was likely killed days earlier, on Sept. 24, 2023. In total, she suffered 17 stab wounds, including six to the neck, according to court documents.

El-Sayed then drove her car to his hometown in Paterson, N.J., the Fairfax District Attorney’s Office said in a statement. He was arrested on Oct. 2, 2023 — after the vehicle pinged in New Jersey via license plate readers — and extradited to Virginia the following month.

Police said El-Sayed and Abbruscato had only recently met, likely between seven and 10 days prior to her death.

During his trial, prosecutors argued that he and Abbruscato had been under the influence of hallucinogenic mushrooms at the time of the murder, according to InsideNova.com.

El-Sayed is facing life in prison when he’s sentenced on March 20.