Man Held Without Bail in Woman's Stabbing Death in Chelsea Apartment

Police have made an arrest after a woman was found stabbed to death inside an apartment in Chelsea, Massachusetts, on Monday, authorities said.

The Chelsea Police Department confirmed the arrest to NBC10 Boston early Tuesday morning. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office identified the person arrested in the murder case as Angel Alvarez, who was arraigned Tuesday in Chelsea District Court.

Alvarez was held without bail. He is due back in court for a pre-trial hearing in July.

First responders were at the scene of the apartment building on LaFayette Avenue Monday morning.

The woman was identified as 59-year-old Margarita Morehead by the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. She had been stabbed numerous times.

Chelsea police said there wasn't believed to be a danger to the public.

Law enforcement sources told NBC10 Boston that the suspect and victim were in a dating relationship. Morehead had a restraining order against Alvarez. The sources initially said it had expired, but a copy of the restraining order viewed by NBC10 Boston showed that it had been extended to Nov. 7, 2023.

An affidavit states that there was no prior battery, but that Morehead said Alvarez was saying "vulgar things" to her and continued contacting her with calls and text messages.

A criminal complaint states that a witness heard loud noises coming from Morehead's apartment before a man was spotted on surveillance video walked out Monday morning.

Investigators say they tracked Alvarez's car several blocks away and found what appeared to be blood on the vehicle.

Neighbors said the building is usually quiet and were stunned to hear of the deadly attack, which they called shocking, unexpected, and sad. They are hoping an arrest is made soon.

"I'm shocked," said Pamela Rivera. "It's such a quiet building."

"This is horrible. This is uncalled for," said neighbor Mario Garcia. "Something like this happened at this time of day? That's tragic. Just take somebody's mother, sister, you know what I'm saying?"

Investigators were seen going in and out of the apartment building throughout the day Monday, searching for evidence, and they were still on scene more than 12 hours later.

The DA's office tells us this is the first homicide of the year in the city. An investigation is ongoing.