HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — Authorities recently arrested two individuals after a 42-year-old mother of two was reportedly found near a bridge with fatal stab wounds.
On the night of Aug. 15, a man entered the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and claimed to have witnessed a slaying at a residence on Maybrook Avenue. Investigators discovered the body of a woman, later identified as Hiojaira Velez Bonilla, near the Weedon Island Preserve off the Gandy Bridge.
The sheriff’s office determined 42-year-old Arnaldo Cintron allegedly fatally stabbed Velez Bonilla following a dispute, and 37-year-old Giselle Santiago Bonilla helped him dispose of her body.
According to court documents reviewed by the Tampa Bay Times, Cintron had been staying at the home, and he and the victim got into an altercation about Cintron assisting with bills and chores. Cintron allegedly then stabbed Velez Bonilla while calling her a b–ch.
Allegedly, Velez Bonilla’s cousin, Santiago Bonilla, willingly helped Cintron move the victim’s body. She was reportedly living at the residence and dating Cintron.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Velez Bonilla’s boyfriend was in the living room and then went into the kitchen during the alleged stabbing. Cintron allegedly “threatened the witness, stating, ‘I don’t like witnesses.'”
Velez Bonilla’s boyfriend reportedly told authorities that Cintron threatened to kill him, his family, and the victim’s 16-year-old son if he didn’t help clean the scene. The boyfriend allegedly assisted in placing Velez Bonilla’s body into a cardboard box and vehicle. Santiago Bonilla reportedly told the victim’s boyfriend that Cintron “did this for” him and that Velez Bonilla “was evil, and she deserved this for the way she treated” him.
Cintron then allegedly forced the victim’s boyfriend to put on her clothes. Per the Tampa Bay Times, Cintron reportedly put on one of Velez Bonilla’s wigs and dresses and told her boyfriend to throw away the bloody wet wipes and towels, as well as the knife, and place them into a bag in the vehicle.
Cintron allegedly made the victim’s boyfriend drive to Santiago Bonilla, and then they went across the Gandy Bridge to the Weedon Island Preserve, where they later disposed of Velez Bonilla’s body.
Cintron and Santiago Bonilla were arrested on Aug. 18. Cintron faces charges of second-degree murder with a weapon, unlawfully hold or move a dead human body in unapproved conditions, tampering with physical evidence, and tampering with a witness.
Santiago Bonilla was charged with tampering with physical evidence, unlawful hold or move a dead human body in unapproved conditions, tampering with a witness, and accessory after the fact.
In a statement, Sheriff Chad Chronister said, “This was a brutal act of violence followed by a callous attempt to cover it up. No life should ever be taken in such a senseless manner, and no attempt to conceal a crime will shield those responsible from justice. Our detectives were relentless, ensuring both individuals were held accountable, and they will now face the full weight of the law.”
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