When Delfina Perez Chilel never arrived to pick up her two kids from a Hallandale Beach, Florida, daycare last Friday, it immediately set off alarms.
Chilel, 41, was known to be on-time, so when the clock struck 9 p.m., the workers at the center became worried and called police. A relative collected the children, aged 8 and 9, and told the cops that Perez Chilel’s car was parked in her driveway, as was a vehicle belonging to their father, Victor Chavez.
But, according to the relative, no one was answering the door.
“The family members informed officers about the parent’s history of domestic disputes, concerns over the father’s mental health, and prior threats,” Hallandale Beach Police Department spokeswoman Grace Mariot told local ABC affiliate WPLG.
Police entered the home and found a scene they described as “horrific,” according to the report. The 20-weeks pregnant Perez Chilel was discovered in a bathroom, suffering from “severe injuries,” and Chavez, 38, was in a bedroom, “lethargic and unresponsive,” authorities said.
Attempts to resuscitate Perez Chilel were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Chavez was taken to the hospital, where he confessed to killing Perez Chilel and attempting suicide, according to police, who arrested him on two counts of second-degree murder, booking records show.
He is being held without bail at Hallandale’s main lockup.
A neighbor told WPLG that Perez Chilel told her that Chavez was very jealous, but that he also “had the face of a madman.”
“It was obvious that he was not a normal person,” the neighbor said.
Chavez has been arrested three previous times for domestic violence, according to a review of court records. In 2017, Chavez was accused of beating Perez Chilel after becoming upset that a former girlfriend of his — not Perez Chilel — was “involved in a new relationship,” arrest paperwork shows. In 2015, Chavez was arrested for allegedly assaulting his pregnant partner with a 7-inch knife. (The victim’s name in that incident is redacted in court filings but details suggest it was Perez Chilel.) In 2014, Chavez was arrested on battery and disorderly conduct charges for allegedly attacking a “Lyliana Perez” after he “became enraged over suspected infidelity.” (Perez Chilel was known as “Lily,” according to reports.)
Charges were later dropped in each.
The two children are now with relatives; Child Protective Investigative Services is investigating.
Perez Chilel’s younger sister has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Perez Chilel’s remains to be shipped to Guatemala for burial.
“My sister was an amazing mother, daughter, sister, wife, and friend,” the page says. “She was part of our lives for a little over 41 years and already we feel lost without her and the smile she had for everyone that met her. I am left to raise her two beautiful children along with mine now. Their lives will not be easy… Our niece and nephew have lost both their parents in the blink of an eye.”
Further details about the gruesome incident have not yet been made public.
