Authorities in Florida said that a man allegedly killed a woman, wore her dress and wig, and also forced the deceased victim’s boyfriend to put on her clothes and help dispose of her body in a swamp, the New York Post reported.
The victim was identified as 41-year-old Hiojaira Velez Bonilla, who is survived by two teen sons. The suspect, identified as Arnaldo Cintron, 42, allegedly stabbed and killed Bonilla after the victim registered her displeasure over his failure to pay bills or help with the upkeep of her house. Cintron and his grilfriend, Giselle Santiago Bonilla, had moved into Bonilla’s home at the time of the killing. Giselle and Bonilla are also cousins.
Court documents state that during the confrontation, Cintron “pushed the victim to the floor of the kitchen, armed himself with a kitchen knife from the counter and began stabbing the victim repeatedly while calling her, ‘B*tch, b*tch, b*tch.’”
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Bonilla’s boyfriend, Elga Davis II, is said to have ultimately seen the murder, but Cintron and his girlfriend did not allow him to leave the crime scene. Davis informed officers that Cintron told him he had allegedly killed Bonilla and gave him an ultimatum: To “help them clean it up” or he “was next.”
Besides threatening to take his life, Davis also told officers that Cintron said Bonilla’s 16-year-old son was going to meet the same fate if Davis tried to get in touch with anyone. Bonilla’s teen son was in the house at the time of her murder.
The trio ultimately cleaned the crime scene, covered her body with porch screening, and then placed her body in a cardbox, Davis said, per the New York Post. While at it, one of Bonilla’s sons came around, but he returned to bed after they infomred him that his mother was not around, court documents stated.
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Cintron is said to have then put on Bonilla’s clothes and also forced Davis to wear his deceased girlfriend’s dress and “a curly, poofy wig.” Surveillance footage showed them driving out of the house with Bonilla’s body in the car.
Davis said that he, together with Cintron and a man nicknamed “Tarzan,” then met at an apartment complex, adding that he was forced to drive to that location. While planning on how to get rid of the body, one of the suspects proposed that Bonilla’s “teeth be kicked out” and her “hands removed” to ensure that her body was not easily identified, per authorities.
But they ultimately forced Davis to drive to a swamp where they disposed of her body and other pieces of evidence linked to her murder. To prevent Davis from reporting the crime, Cintron tabled an offer to Davis, which was to give him a portion of Bonilla’s money, police said, adding that Cintron demanded the debit card PIN details of the victim.
Davis immediately reported the crime to police after Cintron and his girlfriend left. He also took authorities to where Bonilla’s body had been disposed of.
Authorities arrested Cintron and his girlfriend on August 18. Cintron faces a second-degree murder with a weapon charge, and his girlfriend has been charged with accessory after the fact. The couple also both face charges of unlawfully holding or moving a dead human body in unapproved conditions, tampering with physical evidence, and tampering with a witness.
Authorities, however, did not indicate if they were going to bring charges against “Tarzan.”
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