Family and friends clung to one other Monday night as they gathered to grieve the death of a woman discovered slain last week in Hallandale Beach.
Delfina Perez Chilel, 41, was five months pregnant when her children’s father, Victor Chavez Sr., killed her on Tuesday, according to police.
According to investigators, Chavez confessed to killing her.
At a news conference Tuesday, Hallandale Beach Police Sgt. Nini McArdle described the incident as a “heartbreaking tragedy.”
“We ask the community to support and keep this family in your thoughts during this incredibly difficult time,” McArdle told the crowd. “This horrific and isolated crime which occurred in the family-oriented community of Hallandale Beach was the result of domestic violence.”
Police revealed body-worn camera footage of officers arriving at the couple’s house on Southwest 7th Avenue in Hallandale Beach that night to do a welfare check.
According to the arrest report, Chilel was discovered dead in the bathroom in a pool of blood. According to the investigation, she sustained at least 16 cuts and stab wounds throughout her body.
Police believe her unborn child also died.
Police discovered blood all over the bathroom and the kitchen, which they suspect Chavez attempted to clean up.
According to the report, Chavez was discovered sleeping deeply in his bedroom. Investigators believe he attempted suicide by swallowing several prescription tablets. They also discovered goodbye notes scattered about the house, including one in the kitchen, one on his children’s jewelry box, and another on a dry-erase board.
Chavez appeared in bond court on Sunday and was charged with second-degree murder. He allegedly confessed to authorities and believed Chilel was attempting to kill him.
Their children’s daycare contacted officers when their parents failed to pick them up, according to police.
According to court documents, Chavez has previously been arrested on domestic violence allegations, but each case was dismissed because the victims did not press charges or did not appear in court.
From 2014 to 2017, he was arrested three times for battery and severe battery.
According to a fresh arrest warrant, the victim’s sister informed police that Chavez had schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication sometime this year. Chavez has already attempted suicide, believing that the government had poisoned his medicine.
The victim told her sister that Chavez had threatened to murder himself and her several times, and she was scared of him. According to the warrant, she concealed all of the knives in the house for fear that he might use them on her.
McArdle stated that the couple’s children, a 9-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, were safe and cared after by relatives.
Chilel’s family set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds to send her body to Guatemala.
Reference: Man accused of killing pregnant mother has history of domestic violence: Court docs
