An active-duty U.S. Navy reservist accused of killing his wife and fleeing the country has been caught more than two months after his wife’s body was discovered stuffed inside a freezer, according to federal authorities.
On February 5, Lina M. Guerra was found dead in a kitchen freezer at her Norfolk, Virginia, home, where she lived with her husband, David Varela, according to police and an affidavit filed in federal court, Us Weekly previously reported. She was 39 years old.
Varela — who is charged with first-degree murder and concealing a dead body to prevent detection in connection with Guerra’s death — has been taken into custody overseas, FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement shared to X on Wednesday, April 15.
The FBI director did not specify where Varela, 38, was apprehended.
In addition to state criminal charges, Varela is also federally charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution, court records show.
Authorities suspect that on the same day Norfolk police discovered Guerra’s body, Varela fled the U.S. on a flight to Hong Kong, according to the affidavit written by a special agent with the FBI.
Guerra’s brother reported her as missing after he was unable to reach her for more than two weeks, according to the affidavit.
Norfolk police detectives also “had previously been unable to get in contact with Varela or [Guerra],” the affidavit says.
On February 5, when police executed a search warrant at the couple’s Norfolk home, Varela’s “immediate supervisor” in the Navy, a chief petty officer, could not reach him by phone, according to the filing.
Varela’s supervisor told “detectives that this is unusual behavior for him, as Varela is known to promptly return calls,” the affidavit says.
Despite Varela’s absence from his home, officers found his car parked outside in a parking lot, according to the filing.
Guerra’s family members, who live in Colombia and spoke with WTKR, described Varela as a jealous person and expressed that he had been controlling.
“I want to emphasize that there had been violence before from David,” Guerra’s sister-in-law, Paola Ramirez, said while using a translator and speaking with the TV station’s investigative reporter, Margaret Kavanaugh.
Guerra died due to blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, according to a medical examiner, WTKR reported.
It was not immediately clear whether Varela had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
Varela is due to face criminal charges following his extradition to the U.S., according to WTKR.
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