A North Carolina man is accused of killing his wife. Authorities are actively keeping mum about their version of events, but a neighbor says that the defendant had appeared to want to control the victim’s life. Jose Quiroz, 27, faces a charge of murder for the death of spouse Jasmina Judith Almendarez Zelaya, 30, according to WRAL.
“He gave us enough information that would indicate her death,” Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton told the outlet.
Crime scene tape was reportedly seen around the family residence, with neighbors saying they witnessed an apparent body bag being taken out. But Thornton did say if Zelaya’s body was found there.
The alleged victim was reported missing on Tuesday, authorities said. Family said they had last heard from her on April 6th and noted that this was out of character for her. She was reportedly last seen at 7585 Turkey Highway in the town of Turkey, N.C. Turkey is about fifty minutes east of Fayetteville.
A neighbor revealed that the couple had been having issues. Kathy Stone told WRAL that they seemed to be having money problems, based on her witnessing the apparent repossession of their truck. She also alleged that Quiroz appeared domineering.
He wouldn’t let Zelaya “go more than two foot away from him, anywhere in their house,” she said. “He seemed like he wanted to control every aspect of her life.”
Stone described Jasmina, a mother of three, as “so sweet and so loving, and so thankful for anything I did for the children.” According to her, the alleged victim’s sister went to her home this week and said that Zelaya had been intending on leaving Quiroz.
The Sampson County Sheriff’s Office continues to look into this with the help of the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. They’re saying almost nothing about what they think happened.
“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation and out of respect to the family of Jasmina, no further information will be released at this time,” the sheriff’s office said according to The Sampson Independent. “This is a very fluid and ongoing investigation.”
[Image via Sampson County Sheriff’s Office]