A 28-year-old man was arraigned Thursday on charges related to the murders of a Massachusetts mother and her 11-year-old daughter, who were gunned down while sitting in a parked vehicle on a Worcester street on Tuesday afternoon.
Karel Mangual was charged with armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license, Boston 25 reported. Warrants have been issued for a second man on the same charges. Dejan Belnavis, 27, is also wanted on a preexisting warrant, police said.
See CrimeOnline’s previous reporting on this story.
Police say Mangual and Belnavis were seen on security video walking up to an SUV where 27-year-old Chasity Nuñez and her daughter Zella were sitting and opening fire.
“Police reviewed security video which shows the victims’ vehicle parked on the side of the road, two people walk up to the vehicle and start shooting the vehicle,” prosecutor David Feraco said in court Thursday.
The SUV was towed away with more than a dozen bullet holes in the driver’s side window.
The vehicle Belnavis and Mangual drove away from the scene was last spotted driving in Hartford, Connecticut, where investigators located it using its internal GPS system. Police said they have spoken to that vehicle’s registered owner, who said that Belnavis had been using it for about a year.
More details have been released about the slain mother and daughter. Nuñez was a decorated member of the Connecticut National Guard and worked as an program coordinator at MIT Health.
“Chas was passionate about the health and wellbeing of the MIT community. She was beloved by the colleagues who worked closely with her, and her dedication to our patients was powerful and impactful. She will be deeply missed,” an MIT spokesperson said.
Zella was a student in Worcester Public School, where officials have made counselors available
“There are no words to describe the pain this student’s family and school community are feeling as a result of this terrible tragedy,” Worcester Public Schools Superintendent Rachel Monárrez said in a statement. “We offer them our deepest condolences as they endure this unimaginable grief.”
Mangual was ordered held without bond at his hearing on Thursday and is scheduled for a hearing to determine how dangerous he is later this month.
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[Featured image: Dejan Belnavis/Worcester Police Department and Zella and Chasity Nunez/Facebook]
