Jose Luis Pacheco and Mimose Dulcio.
The estranged husband of a missing 39-year-old Florida woman was arrested after police say they uncovered evidence that “suggested” he killed her inside of their home. Jose Luis Pacheco, 36, was taken into custody on Monday and charged with one count of second-degree murder in the death of Mimose Dulcio, authorities announced.
According to a press release from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, a missing person alert for Dulcio was issued on Saturday, Nov. 12. Investigators said she had last been seen at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 10 at her home located in unincorporated Central Broward.
The case was initially taken up by the sheriff’s office Missing Persons Unit. Investigators looking into the circumstances surrounding of Dulcio’s disappearance soon turned the case over to the BSO Homicide Unit, the release states.
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,” BSO spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis wrote in a news release. “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.”
An arrest warrant for Pacheco was issued on Monday. Detectives with the BSO Violence Intervention Proactive Enforcement Response (VIPER) Unit, in conjunction with officers from the Miami-Dade Police Department arrested Pacheco in Miami.
He is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on an out of county warrant without bond as he awaits his tranfer to the Broward County Main Jail.
According to a report from Miami ABC affiliate WPLG, relatives of Dulcio went to her home located in the 400 block of NW 30th Avenue near Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to check on her. Dulcio reportedly still shared the house with Pacheco despite the impending divorce .
Once there, they reportedly found her cell phone smashed and stuffed between the cushions of her couch. There were also several broken windows, a broken television, and all of her credit cards had been left behind, according to a report from CBS News.
Dulcio’s sister, Seminta Dulcio, told 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 reportedly said.
Additionally, Seminta reportedly told NBC Miami that no one could get a hold of Pacheco for approximately 10 hours on Friday.
[image via Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office]