An illegal immigrant is alleged to have strangled Sandra Hehir (above), 49, to death inside her home in the Boston suburb of Worcester, Massachusetts earlier this month

An illegal immigrant is alleged to have strangled a 49-year-old woman to death inside her home in the Boston suburb of Worcester, Massachusetts earlier this month.

Sandra Hehir's body was found in her apartment on February 5, according to The Boston Globe.

The Worcester district attorney's office said it obtained DNA evidence which links Jose Melendez, 54, to the crime.

Melendez, who was arrested last week, has a history of run-ins with law enforcement.

He reportedly defaulted on probation in 2014 in a breaking and entering case, and he also faces charges in two drug cases in Worcester.

Melendez was arraigned on murder charges in Worcester District Court on Monday. His next hearing is scheduled for April 13.

He has also faced criminal charges in New York and Florida.

An official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed to Daily Mail Online on Friday that the agency had placed a detainer on Melendez on March 20 – the day that he was arraigned.

ICE only places detainers on individuals that the agency believes are 'deportable.'

Hehir's body was found in her apartment (above) on February 5. Prosecutors say DNA evidence collected at the scene implicates Jose Melendez, 54, an undocumented migrant

Sandra Hehir's body was found in her apartment on February 5

Hehir was a beloved middle school teacher's aide at one of Worcester's area public schools.

Colleagues began to worry about her well-being when she did not show up to school on February 6, according to MassLive.

'All her life she was a very kind person,' School Superintendent Maureen F. Binienda told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette when asked about Hehir.

'I really hope that people join together and try to find who did this.'

Binienda said that she taught a young Hehir when she attended South High Community School, from which she graduated in 1985.

'Great athlete, very smart - had a lot of friends,' Binienda said.

'Lots of friends - everybody knew Buffy.'

'Buffy' was a nickname that Hehir was often referred to.

'She was just a wonderful person,' Hehir's former brother-in-law, John Bradley, said.

'Very friendly, sociable, very healthy – very into running and taking care of herself.'

Hehir overcame a great deal of adversity in her life. Her father died when she was very young, and she had to quit her job and stay home to care for her dying mother, who would eventually succumb to cancer.