US Marshals Identify Suspect in Murder of Service Member and Her Daughter
Police have released photos of a man they suspect murdered a former Connecticut National Guard member and her elementary school-aged daughter on Tuesday in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Chasity Nunez, 27, and her 11-year-old daughter, Zella Nunez, were parked on a public street last week when they were both shot to death in broad daylight, WBZ-TV reported.
The Worcester Police Department took to its page on the social media platform X to share photos of a man named Dejan Belnavis, who is wanted for questioning and is a suspect.
Additional photos of Dejan Belnavis are below.
Send an anonymous text to 274637 TIPWPD + your message or send an anonymous web-based message at https://t.co/c7TV55iyeo. Calls can also be made to the Worcester Police Detective Bureau at (508) 799-8651. pic.twitter.com/MNgkKivp4Z
— Worcester PD (@WorcesterPD) March 10, 2024
The department said any calls placed regarding the case can be anonymous.
Additionally, according to WBZ-TV, the U.S. Marshals Service is also attempting to track down Belnavis and was offering a $5,000 cash reward.
That reward was doubled to $10,000 on Monday afternoon.
The reward for information leading to the whereabouts of Dejan Dante Belvanis has increased to up to $10,000. pic.twitter.com/Mi6dvmgmvR
— Worcester PD (@WorcesterPD) March 11, 2024
A bulletin from police in Worcester described how Nunez and her daughter were murdered.
“On March 5th 2024 at about 3:09 PM, Worcester Police officers were dispatched to the area of Lisbon St at Englewood Ave for a report of gunshots. Upon arrival, officers located a parked vehicle with two female gunshot victims inside,” the bulletin said.
Police added, “Both victims suffered serious injuries and were transported to the hospital by ambulance. The victims were identified as a mother and her daughter, and they were both pronounced deceased at the hospital.”
Six days after the double murder Belnavis is still wanted for questioning but cannot be located. Another man named Karel Mangual has been arrested in connection to the double homicide and is being held without bail.
But Belnavis remains on the lam and was last seen in Connecticut on surveillance video, which was viewed when detectives tracked his vehicle to the city of Hartford.
The suspect is said to have family in the city, and police have cautioned Belnavis should be considered armed and dangerous.
WBZ spoke to officials at Zella Nunez’s school, who described her as a “high-achieving sixth-grade student who had many friends and was well respected by her teachers.”
Chasity Nunez spent four years in the Connecticut National Guard, which she was a “valued member of,” the family said in a GoFundMe campaign, which is seeking to raise funds for her and Zella’s funeral expenses and her 2-year-old daughter.
Community rallying around 11-year-old Zella Nunez and her mom Chasity after they were gunned down in their Worcester neighborhood this week 🙏🏾 @wbz #wbzhttps://t.co/b6iD41hiSo
— Tammy Mutasa (@TammyWBZ) March 9, 2024
The campaign added that Nunez was also a “devoted mother.”
It is unknown what relationship if any Nunez had to her alleged killers.
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