Background: Icon Norfolk Apartments located on the 300 block of East Main Street in Norfolk, Virginia (Google Maps). Inset: Lina Guerra (Norfolk Police Department).
Authorities in Virginia believe a man killed his wife, stuffed her body in an apartment's freezer, and then fled the country and flew to the other side of the world.
David Varela, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Lina Guerra, the Norfolk Police Department announced. The suspect also faces a charge of concealing a dead body to prevent detection, according to a federal affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
On Feb. 5, the Norfolk Police Department arrived at a residence at Icon Norfolk Apartments located on the 300 block of East Main Street in Norfolk. They had been called by Guerra's brother, who had reported that he had not heard from her in weeks, the affidavit stated.
Authorities learned Varela was an active reservist with the U.S. Navy and he was reportedly not responding to calls from his immediate supervisor, which was "unusual behavior for him."
Officers searched the apartment and found Guerra dead in the kitchen freezer, the affidavit goes on. Her cellphone was in the residence too, and Varela's Tesla was outside in the parking lot.
Authorities conducted an autopsy and ruled that Guerra had been killed. A cause of death was not listed in the affidavit.
The investigation continued. Detectives learned, with federal help, that Varela boarded a flight to Hong Kong "on or about Feb. 5, 2026," with WhatsApp location data "originating" there as well, according to the affidavit. Investigators also learned that Varela had family in Colombia, though they did not see "any discernible ties" to Hong Kong or China.
On Feb. 10, as authorities continued their search for Varela, they charged him with murder.
Guerra's death has left her family in sorrow, with her aunt, Elizabeth Echavarria, telling area NBC affiliate WAVY, "It's awful he took my little girl away."
Guerra's sister-in-law Paola Ramirez, who lives in Colombia, told local CBS affiliate WTKR that Varela was a jealous husband.
"There had been violence before from David," Ramirez reportedly said through a translator. "He had hit her previously, but she didn't tell us because she didn't want to worry us. He appeared to be very religious, very calm, normal, that's why this is so shocking; we never imagined he'd do something like this."
Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi expressed to ABC affiliate WVEC how rarely his office deals with extradition cases. He indicated that his office is working with Interpol to arrest Varela and then work on extraditing him back to Virginia to face his charges.
Law&Crime reached out to the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office for an update on the case.