Inset: Ruben Chavez and Evelyn Virgen (GoFundMe). Background: The area in San Diego where the victims were killed in front of three young children (KFMB).
A 25-year-old woman in California and her 21-year-old boyfriend are accused of killing the woman”s ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend, gunning the couple down on the street as three young children were in a minivan just feet away.
Princess Perez, who was in a custody battle with the male victim over their young son, and Ramses “Rex” Morales were arrested this week and charged in connection with the slayings of Ruben Chavez, 31, and Evelyn Virgen, 28, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the San Diego Police Department, officers at about 12:26 a.m. on Monday responded to an anonymous report of two people lying motionless in the street on the 100 block of 27th Street in Grant Hill. The caller told the dispatcher that at least one of the people appeared to be covered in blood.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders located a man and a woman, later identified as Chavez and Virgen, both of whom were pronounced dead due to “homicidal violence.”
“Officers looked inside a vehicle parked near the victims and observed three young children, all under the age of 2, seemingly unharmed inside,” police wrote in the release.
Authorities placed the children into protective custody.
The suspects appeared in court on Thursday where Morales pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder with special circumstances of multiple murders, as well as three counts of child endangerment, local CBS and CW affiliate KFMB reported. Prosecutors alleged that Morales used a shotgun to kill both victims.
If convicted of the special circumstances murder, Morales could face the death penalty.
Perez is currently charged as an accessory to both murders. Prosecutors asserted that she drove Morales to the location of the murder and transported him across the border to Mexico afterward. They were arrested while attempting to return to the U.S. through the San Ysidro port of entry.
According to local Fox affiliate KUSI, the investigation into Perez remains ongoing, evidence is still being reviewed, and additional charges are possible.
Court documents obtained by the station reportedly revealed that Chavez and Perez were in the midst of a custody battle over their two children at the time of Chavez’s death. Chavez was only permitted to have supervised visits with the kids and was seeking joint custody.
“It’s a complicated family situation. The investigation’s ongoing as to everybody’s respective relationships,” an assistant district attorney said Thursday.
The ADA said the number of children involved in the case made it a truly “terrible situation.”
“They’ve been affected by horrible street violence,” he continued. “Our heart goes out to them and their families and we’ll do our best to see that justice occurs in this case.”
A GoFundMe page started by Chavez’s cousin said the couple left behind a total of nine children and that the three youngest — including a 3-month-old boy named Ruben Jr. — were “present at the time of the tragedy and will carry the trauma of that day for the rest of their lives.”
“We are raising funds to help cover funeral expenses and to support their children, especially the youngest ones, who will need extra care, love, and resources in the days and years ahead,” the fundraising page says. “Any contribution, no matter the amount, is deeply appreciated.”
