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http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/23776.htm
GRISLY MURDER ORDEAL
By LISA PULITZER
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June 25, 2004 -- A slain Westhampton woman whose car was found torched several months ago was also raped, tortured and brutalized by her jilted co-worker, police said yesterday as they slapped him with murder charges.
Faustino Chavez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, did not react when prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and arson in t
e Feb. 27 slaying of Vinessa Hoera. He pleaded not guilty.
Clutching a large photo of her daughter, Donna Hoera broke down in tears upon learning the heinous details of her precious daughter's d
eath. Her anguish intensified as prosecutors revealed Chavez cut Hoera's thro
at "so deep that he sliced her larynx in half."
"Her neck had been cut at least five times from ear to ear. She was nearly decapitated," said Suffolk County Assistant DA Kerriann Kelly.
Chavez's DNA was found on the 23-year-old's body, and bruises on her body "were consistent with a struggle," said Kelly. "It was a crime of severe violence, indicating hostility and hate for the person."
Kelly said Hoera and Chavez, who worked together at a Westhampton fish market, had a "hostile relationship."
The grisly new details of Hoera's murder were met with a collective gasp from family and friends, who said they were hearing them for the first
time and were stunned at the savagery of the crime.
"I'm very shocked and it was painful to hear," said Donna Hoera. "I keep replaying it in my head."
Co-
workers had said Chavez showed a romantic interest in Hoera, lavishing her with diamond earrings for Christmas, but his affections were not returned.
The pretty single mom disappeared
in February after leaving her job at a seafood market to pick up her 5-year-old son from day care.
Her car was found on fire the next morning, but Hoera was missing. Later that day, Chavez was pulled from a burning vehicle in Ronkonkoma.
Chavez has confessed to the murder, claiming "he had to" do it, said Kelly.
After the murder, she said, he dumped her body in a wooded area in Westhampton behind a soccer field where he was known to play. Her body was found April 4.
A judge set bail at $1 million.
http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/23776.htm
GRISLY MURDER ORDEAL
By LISA PULITZER
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Archives
Print Reprint
June 25, 2004 -- A slain Westhampton woman whose car was found torched several months ago was also raped, tortured and brutalized by her jilted co-worker, police said yesterday as they slapped him with murder charges.
Faustino Chavez, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, did not react when prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and arson in t
e Feb. 27 slaying of Vinessa Hoera. He pleaded not guilty.
Clutching a large photo of her daughter, Donna Hoera broke down in tears upon learning the heinous details of her precious daughter's d
eath. Her anguish intensified as prosecutors revealed Chavez cut Hoera's thro
at "so deep that he sliced her larynx in half."
"Her neck had been cut at least five times from ear to ear. She was nearly decapitated," said Suffolk County Assistant DA Kerriann Kelly.
Chavez's DNA was found on the 23-year-old's body, and bruises on her body "were consistent with a struggle," said Kelly. "It was a crime of severe violence, indicating hostility and hate for the person."
Kelly said Hoera and Chavez, who worked together at a Westhampton fish market, had a "hostile relationship."
The grisly new details of Hoera's murder were met with a collective gasp from family and friends, who said they were hearing them for the first
time and were stunned at the savagery of the crime.
"I'm very shocked and it was painful to hear," said Donna Hoera. "I keep replaying it in my head."
Co-
workers had said Chavez showed a romantic interest in Hoera, lavishing her with diamond earrings for Christmas, but his affections were not returned.
The pretty single mom disappeared
in February after leaving her job at a seafood market to pick up her 5-year-old son from day care.
Her car was found on fire the next morning, but Hoera was missing. Later that day, Chavez was pulled from a burning vehicle in Ronkonkoma.
Chavez has confessed to the murder, claiming "he had to" do it, said Kelly.
After the murder, she said, he dumped her body in a wooded area in Westhampton behind a soccer field where he was known to play. Her body was found April 4.
A judge set bail at $1 million.