Dwayne Herelle Jr., 28, appears in court on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023, to face a murder charge in the death of Irene Torres, 24. (Screenshot from ABC affiliate WKRN)
A 28-year-old former MMA fighter allegedly stabbed his ex-girlfriend 17 times in an argument before driving her body to his apartment and putting it in a plastic storage bin in the closet.
The gruesome details came out in a preliminary hearing on Wednesday for Dwayne Herelle Jr., 28. He’s charged in the murder of Irene Torres, 24.
Torres’ body was found in a closet in Herelle’s apartment outside of Nashville on Jan. 29. Herelle was charged with her murder after police said he admitted to Torres’ father that he stabbed her.
In the hearing, Metro Nashville Police Department Detective Derry Baltimore testified about the crime. According to a report by Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN, which had a camera in the courtroom for Baltimore’s testimony, the stabbing was caught on surveillance video at Torres’ home.
“They got into an argument, and he begins stabbing her, and after stabbing her, he put her in the trunk of his car,” Baltimore said.
Baltimore described discovering her body.
“We went to the closet area, and I could see the victim inside of a clear tote, looked like she was wrapped in some type of comforter,” he said.
He witnessed the autopsy.
“I was told while I was standing there with the doctor that she was stabbed in excess of 17 times,” he said.
Torres’ violent death shocked family and friends.
Todd Furbeck, a former co-worker at a Florida brewery where they both worked, said she had a great sense of humor.
“She was like a jokester,” he said in an interview with WKRN. “It was just fun to be around her. She brought up a room.”
Herelle had gone 0-2 in professional MMA matches, according to MMA News. The news of his arrest shocked his former coach, Chris Beasley, who told WKRN that he was a nice person.
“He would always go out of his way to help people,” he said.
