Jose Luis Pacheco and Mimose Dulcio
Authorities said they identified a body as a Florida woman believed to have been murdered by her estranged husband.
The woman was identified on Tuesday as Mimose Dulcio, 39, nearly a week after remains were found on Nov. 16. Defendant Jose Luis Pacheco, 36, who was arrested Nov. 14 in Hialeah, was originally locked up in a Miami-area jail, but is currently being processed at the Broward County Jail.
“According to detectives with the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified the female body recovered on Wednesday, Nov. 16, at 5528 N.W. 204th Street in unincorporated Miami Gardens as 39-year-old Mimose Dulcio,” authorities said in a press statement from Broward sheriff’s PIO Gerdy St. Louis. “The body was located following a missing person/homicide investigation into Dulcio’s disappearance.”
Dulcio was last seen Nov. 10 at around at around 5:30 p.m. near the 400 block of Northwest 30th Avenue in unincorporated Central Broward. She was home. Family reportedly called her disappearance out of character. In addition, concerned loved ones said Dulcio’s belongings were missing and that there were blood and cracks on the TV, according to NBC Miami. Family also found broken windows and credit cards were left behind, according to WPLG.
“Two of her phones, they were broken, bent and they’re shattered, and that’s not like her to leave any of her devices because of what she’s currently going through,” sister Seminta Dulcio told NBC Miami.
She alleged that there was friction between the missing woman and Pacheco, telling WPLG that her sister was supposed to get Pacheco out of the house with an emergency restraining order but was unable to because the courthouse was closed due to Hurricane Nicole.
“She is going through something with an individual, and I don’t take these words lightly, I am going to call him a monster,” Seminta Dulco reportedly said. She told NBC Miami that no one could get a hold of Pacheco for approximately 10 hours on Nov. 11. Authorities put out a missing person alert for Mimose the following day.
Pacheco claimed not to know what happened to his missing, estranged wife, deputies said. But investigators believe he actually killed her in their home and moved her body.
“During their investigation, detectives met with Pacheco, who stated he had not seen or heard from Dulcio in a couple of days and that they were in the process of getting a divorce,” the sheriff’s office said in announcing his arrest. “Through investigative methods, a search warrant was obtained for the couple’s home and shared vehicle. During the search, investigators found evidence that suggested Dulcio had been murdered in the couple’s home, and that her body had been transported in the couple’s shared vehicle and disposed of in an unknown location.”
“On behalf of the City of Fort Lauderdale, our hearts are with the family and loved ones of Mimose Dulcio,” Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis said on Nov. 15 of Dulcio, a city employee. “According to law enforcement, an arrest was made this morning in connection with her disappearance. We pray for peace for Mimose and her family during this time.”
Pacheco faces a count of second-degree murder.
Jerry Lambe contributed to this report.
[Image of Pacheco via Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation; image of Dulcio via Broward Sheriff’s Office]