A recent tragic domestic violence case in Hallandale Beach was deemed “horrific” by police officials. The victim was identified by family as Delfina “Lily” Perez, a 20-week pregnant mother of two. Her age was forty-one.
According to authorities, Perez was known for being on time when she dropped off her two kids, aged eight and nine, at a Hallandale Beach daycare. When she failed to come to pick them up, police officers arrived at the daycare at 9 p.m., according to the police.
According to Grace Mariot, a spokesperson for the Hallandale Beach Police Department, a relative picked up the kids from the daycare and subsequently reported that while the automobiles that belonged to Perez and the kids’ father, Victor Chavez, were parked outside the residence — no one answered 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,” Mariot stated.
Officers from Hallandale Beach reported finding 38-year-old Chavez “lethargic and unresponsive” in a bedroom and Perez with “severe injuries” in a bathroom when they hurried inside the house near Southwest Seventh Avenue and Seventh Court. On Sunday, neighbor Anne Foss was rattled.
“I heard a lot of loud bangs; like somebody was banging on a door with something,” Foss stated. “‘BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!’ It must have been six or eight.”
Chavez, also known as Victor Ricardo Chavez Sanchez, was taken to the hospital after fire rescue professionals declared Perez dead despite efforts to resuscitate her, according to authorities. Police claimed he was caught on Saturday after confessing to the murder and attempted suicide.
The couple’s neighbor Kathy Morales claimed that Perez once confided in her that Chavez battled envy, but she felt that there was more going on.
“He had the face of a madman,” Morales stated. “It was obvious that he was not a normal person.”
Correctional deputies from the Broward Sheriff’s Office booked Chavez into the main jail in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, according to Broward County records.
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He required a Spanish-English interpreter when he appeared in County bail court on Sunday, when he was charged with two charges of second-degree murder. A mental health screening was mandated by the judge.
According to authorities, the two youngsters who were with relatives were the subject of an investigation by Child Protective Investigative Services.
To assist in transporting Perez’s remains back to their homeland of Guatemala, Perez’s younger sister, Cosme Abel De Leon Mazariegos, created a GoFundMe page.
