In Riverview, Florida, the killing of 42-year-old Hiojaira “Joy” Velez Bonilla has left family, neighbors, and investigators shaken — not only because of the violence itself, but because of the strange and disturbing details that have emerged in court.
Bonilla, a mother of two, was stabbed to death inside her home on August 17. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office quickly charged 42-year-old Arnaldo Cintron with second-degree murder. Bonilla’s cousin and Cintron’s girlfriend, 37-year-old Giselle Santiago Bonilla, was also arrested, facing charges that include accessory after the fact, witness tampering, and unlawfully moving a corpse.
The case might have remained unsolved were it not for Bonilla’s boyfriend, 29-year-old Elga Davis II. Davis reported the crime days later and testified in court on August 25 about what he said happened that night. His account is as chilling as it is surreal.
Davis said he was inside Bonilla’s home with her, Cintron, and Giselle when an argument broke out. He couldn’t follow much of it — most of the fight was in Spanish — but he remembered hearing Cintron switch to English, saying, “Don’t call me names no more,” before lunging at Bonilla.
“I’m sitting there, and the next thing I know I hear somebody getting hit in the throat, and they made that…ughk sound,” Davis testified. “I tried to go run over there and then I see her on the floor, like crazy dance.”
Davis said Cintron kept stabbing her, even as she collapsed. What made the scene even more surreal, Davis claimed, was that Cintron was wearing a woman’s wig and dress. At one point, Davis said, Cintron forced him to put on Bonilla’s clothes.
Terrified, Davis said he complied because Cintron threatened to kill Bonilla’s young son, who was in the house at the time. Davis said Cintron ordered him to help clean up and move the body, eventually stuffing Bonilla into a box with the help of Giselle. The group then drove to Weedon Island Preserve near St. Petersburg, where her body was dumped.
Davis said he later told his parents what had happened and, encouraged by them, went to police. This information led police to Bonilla’s remains and to the arrests of Cintron and Giselle. They’re still searching for a third man, identified only by the nickname “Tarzan.”
Chief Judge Christopher Sabella has ordered Cintron held without bond, citing his violent criminal past.
Loved ones described Bonilla as “[her family’s] rock, their safe place, and their biggest supporter.” They have posted a GoFundMe appeal for support.
“She didn’t deserve this,” one neighbor told local reporters. “To lose her in this way is just unimaginable.”
