The Missing
Janaina Freire Goncalves
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Janaina Freire Goncalves, a 47 year old mom, was last seen on the evening of March 10, 2025 at her home on the 600 block of New Point Road in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Janaina is from Brazil originally, but after the Covid-19 pandemic, she decided to move to America. She first worked at the Casa Nova Grill as a bartender, and then moved on to becoming a personal trainer and an exotic dancer.
Her son Eduardo flew to New Jersey from Brazil to look for his mother after he stopped hearing from her. He told Eyewitness News that he and his mom are very close and would speak every day. He collected his mothers belongings and returned to Brazil after a 10 day search with police that came up empty.
Janaina got married to a man named Brendan Trivisonno one year ago, and she was in the midst of ending the relationship with him because she found out that he was already married to a woman in Lyndhurst NJ and had a daughter.
Janiana’s friend Lalique has stated that the two were fighting a lot. Another friend named Geanne said she texted Janaina on March 10 and everything seemed okay. But when she texted her again the next morning, there was no response. On the 12th, Geanne tried to call Brendan but she got no answer from him either. On the 13th, she was finally able to get a response from Brendan but he told her that he had moved out of the apartment and that he didn’t know where Janaina was. That is when Geanne called authorities.
The husband was at the apartment on March 14th when police arrived to search for Janaina after she was reported missing. He allowed them inside and gave them the keys. Brendan refused to answer any questions because he did not have a lawyer present. He did, however, submit a DNA sample. He told authorities he doesn’t know where she is and that he wants her to be found. Police impounded his truck and his cellphone.
Brendan said Janaina was very independent and goal oriented, adding that she has a mortgage on a property in Sao Paulo Brazil that she was working to pay off. He claims they had a “crazy argument” with Janaina around Thanksgiving when she found out about his family. He moved out to spend more time with his other wife and his daughter.
The investigation is still ongoing. Union County Crime Stoppers has offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Janaina’s whereabouts.
If you have any further information, please contact the Union County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Scott Chertoff at 908-358-9162. You may also submit tips anonymously to Union County Crime Stoppers by phone at 908-654-TIPS or online at http://www.uctip.org.
Sources:
https://abc7ny.com/post/son-flies-elizabeth-new-jersey-brazil-searching-answers-mother-missing-2-months/16297999/
https://ucpo.org/news/article/2210
https://www.nj.com/union/2025/04/nj-woman-mysteriously-disappeared-1-month-ago-amid-breakup-friends-plea-for-answers.html
https://www.nj.com/union/2025/04/10k-reward-offered-to-help-find-nj-woman-missing-for-7-weeks.html
https://patch.com/new-jersey/westfield/missing-elizabeth-woman-police-seek-help
https://dailyvoice.com/nj/elizabeth/disappearance-of-elizabeth-woman-prompts-police-investigation/
The Lost & The Taken 
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