The charges against one suspect have been upgraded to murder as Massachusetts authorities prepare for another to be brought back from California.
A second arrest was made on Monday, almost a week after a mother and daughter were shot and killed in Worcester, Massachusetts, and both suspects will now face murder charges, according to the district attorney.
U.S. Marshals took Dejan Dante Belnavis into custody in San Diego, California, following a weeklong manhunt sparked by the shooting deaths of 27-year-old Chasity Nunez and her 11-year-old daughter Zella.
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The mother and daughter were shot while in a parked SUV shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, and investigators say their family is relieved both men accused of gunning them down are now in custody.
Karel Mangual, 28, of Worcester, was arrested last Wednesday night and charged with armed assault to murder and carrying a firearm without a license.
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Mangual had a dangerousness hearing on Tuesday where his charges were upgraded to murder, and he was ordered held without bail. It was not immediately clear when his next court date is.
While Mangual has been behind bars since shortly after the deadly shooting, authorities had been intensely searching for Belnavis, releasing the first picture of him last Wednesday and announcing a reward this past weekend.
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“We’re using law enforcement technology with the aid of U.S. Marshals and again the state police, we were able to locate him through that technology, we can’t get into specifics of what it was, but we were able to basically pinpoint where he was going to be,” Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier said.
“He was in the area of the San Diego Zoo and when the chief talks about technology, this was shoe leather on the ground, boots and leather on the ground, good old fashioned police work, you know tips, everyone’s communicating, just a great effort,” Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early said.
Police say Belnavis, who had cut most of his hair off and was wearing glasses, did not try to run when authorities tracked him down, and no one was injured when he was arrested by U.S. Marshals near the Mexico border. The DA says it’s unclear at this time whether Belnavis was trying to make his way into Mexico.
Worcester's police chief says authorities were all in on the search.
“The detectives, the persistence in wanting to bring this thing to a successful conclusion was unbelievable, these guys were 24/7 and they weren’t going to stop until this person was in custody, so I give a lot of thanks to them, very difficult job, the circumstances were difficult," he said. "We all have kids and it hit home.”
The district attorney acknowledged all of the hard work in the case that resulted in taking Belnavis into custody.
“They’ve been working around the clock, around the clock, there’s been no rest in this,” he said.
Investigators say it’s unclear if Belnavis will waive extradition, or if detectives will have to travel to California for that legal process.
