'I don't like witnesses': Man forced to wear murdered girlfriend's dress and wig before dumping her body deep in the mangroves, prosecutors say

After witnessing his girlfriend's murder, a antheral was forced to don the victim's formal and wig earlier the suspects made him thrust heavy into the Florida mangroves to dump her body, prosecutors say.

The probe began soon aft 9 p.m. Friday erstwhile that antheral walked into the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office to study the murder of his girlfriend, 41-year-old Hiojaira Mercedes Velez-Bonilla.

He had a grim communicative to tell.

According to him, Velez-Bonilla lived with her 2 teenage sons and her cousin, 37-year-old Giselle Marie Santiago Bonilla, who precocious moved into the location successful the 11000 artifact of Maybrook Avenue successful Riverview, adjacent Tampa. Early Friday morning, Velez-Bonilla and her cousin's boyfriend, 42-year-old Arnaldo Cintron, got into a verbal statement astir paying bills and completing chores astir the house, a motion for pretrial detention stated.

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Cintron allegedly shoved Velez-Bonilla to the floor, grabbed a weapon and began repeatedly stabbing her portion shouting "b—, b—, b—." The victim's fellow tried to caput to the exit, but Cintron and his woman blocked his path, "cornering him" successful the kitchen, prosecutors wrote.

"I don't similar witnesses," Cintron allegedly said.

The defendants past proceeded to unit the witnesser to "help them cleanable it up" oregon helium "was next," the witnesser told investigators. They besides took his cellphone, the question stated. The witnesser and suspects allegedly spent the adjacent 2 to 4 hours cleaning up. As they cleaned, Cintron repeatedly told the witnesser that helium "did this for him" and Santiago Bonilla said the unfortunate was "evil, and she deserved this for the mode she treated" the witness, prosecutors wrote.

At 1 point, the victim's lad seemingly came retired of his country to inquire wherever his parent was and inquired astir the mess. According to the motion, Cintron and Santiago Bonilla told the teen that they were cleaning up a spilled portion and his ma near to spell beryllium with different man.

Next, the suspects allegedly made the witnesser enactment connected 1 of the victim's agelong dresses and don 1 of her wigs. They collected the cleaning supplies and the alleged execution limb and dumped them successful a trash bag, and Velez-Bonilla's assemblage was stuffed into a cardboard container and covered with structure screening, the question said. The suspects allegedly placed the assemblage and trash container successful the victim's conveyance and forced the witnesser to thrust to an flat analyzable to conscionable a antheral helium knew arsenic "Tarzan."

"You cognize 1 oculus Willy is successful the back," Cintron allegedly told "Tarzan" erstwhile helium entered the car, an evident notation to the victim, who wore an oculus spot owed to a aesculapian condition, the question said.

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Cintron, his woman Santiago Bonilla, and "Tarzan" past allegedly discussed the champion ways of getting escaped of the victim's body. Santiago Bonilla suggested they footwear the victim's teeth successful and chopped disconnected her hands to marque it harder to place her, prosecutors wrote. Eventually, they decided to thrust implicit the Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg and to a secluded country successful the Weedon Island Natural Preserve, the question stated. They ended up driving backmost into an country of "dense mangroves" — trees native to The Sunshine State — and parked.

They past allegedly removed the cardboard container with the assemblage and dragged it heavy into the mangroves, wherever they dumped her body. After driving away, the suspects realized they besides near down the trash container with cleaning supplies and execution weapon, the question said, truthful they forced the unfortunate to spell backmost and retrieve it. According to prosecutors, they drove distant and dumped the trash container astatine an flat complex.

The defendants past allegedly ordered the witnesser to cleanable the car. Cintron besides accessed the victim's slope account, which had a equilibrium of much than $30,000, and offered immoderate of the wealth to the witness, prosecutors wrote.

After the interview, the witnesser showed investigators wherever helium dumped his girlfriend's body.

Cintron stands accused of second-degree murder, unlawfully moving a dormant body, tampering with grounds and tampering with a witness. He is successful the Hillsborough County Jail without bond. Santiago Bonilla is facing charges of unlawfully moving a dormant body, tampering with evidence, accessory aft the information and tampering with a witness. She has a $200,000 bond. They are scheduled to look successful tribunal connected Monday.

"This was a brutal enactment of unit followed by a callous effort to screen it up," Sheriff Chad Chronister said successful a statement. "No beingness should ever beryllium taken successful specified a senseless manner, and nary effort to conceal a transgression volition shield those liable from justice. Our detectives were relentless, ensuring some individuals were held accountable, and they volition present look the afloat value of the law."