Suspect arraigned in double slaying
Alleged accomplice still sought; mother, girl mourned in Worcester
WORCESTER — A man accused of opening fire on a car parked in a residential neighborhood on Tuesday, killing a woman and her 11year-old daughter, was ordered held without bail Thursday, while a search continued for a second suspect in a crime the governor described as a “frightening and senseless loss.”
Karel S. Mangual, 28, whose extensive criminal history included shooting a man in 2015, pleaded not guilty in Worcester District Court to two counts of armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a gun without a license. He was ordered to remain in custody pending a March 12 hearing to determine whether he poses a danger to the community.
A second man, Dejan D. Belnavis, 27, is being sought as a fugitive on charges of armed assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm without a license, officials said. He has a history of domestic violence charges and is considered armed and dangerous, police said.
The two men are accused of killing Chasity M. Nunez, 27, and her daughter, Zella Aria Nunez, in a hail of gunfire shortly after 3 p.m. A 911 caller said they heard between 12 and 20 shots fired, police said.
Zella Nunez attended the city’s public schools, which were closed Tuesday for a professional development day. She was known as a “high-achieving student who had many friends and was well respected by her teachers,” school officials said.
“There are no words to describe the pain this student’s family is feeling as a result of this terrible tragedy,” Superintendent Rachel Monárrez said in a letter to the community. “We offer them our deepest condolences as they endure unimaginable grief.”
The girl was also involved with Our Bright Future Inc., a nonprofit based in Southbridge.
“Our sincere condolences to the Nunez family,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “Zella, you are loved, and may you both rest in peace.”
Chasity Nunez worked for the MIT Health system as a patient safety and clinical quality program coordinator, where she started last July, an MIT spokesperson said.
“Chas was passionate about the health and wellbeing of the MIT community,” Cecilia Stuopis, chief health officer of MIT Health, said in a statement. “She was beloved by the colleagues who worked closely with her, and her dedication to our patients was powerful and impactful. She will be deeply missed.”
Chasity Nunez was a member of the Connecticut National Guard since 2021, where she
served with the 142nd Medical Company. She had received the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Army Achievement Medal.
Major David Pytlik, public affairs officer for the Connecticut National Guard, said “our hearts are broken because we lost Specialist Chasity Nunez to senseless violence.”
“Chasity was beloved by her fellow Soldiers in the 142nd Medical Company. Her wit, social nature and dedication to duty made her one of the best Soldiers in our unit. I cannot begin to make sense of why this happened and why her family, friends, co-workers and fellow Soldiers have been robbed of her and Zella.
“I’d describe Chasity as incredibly resilient, brilliantly intelligent, destined for success in her civilian and military careers, and more full of compassion than anyone I know,” he said.
Speaking at a Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce event on Thursday, Governor Maura Healey described the slayings as a “frightening and senseless loss” that has left the city shaken.
“I want to take a moment to acknowledge that this city experienced a trauma this week,” Healey said, according to a statement provided to the Globe. “Chasity and Zella Nunez, a mom and her daughter, lost their lives to a violent act. Members of the Worcester Public Schools community are with us, and while I know they must be shaken themselves, they are continuing to help students process this frightening and senseless loss.”
The two men allegedly drove around the neighborhood in a white sedan before parking on Hobson Avenue, officials said. The two men opened fire on the mother and child on Englewood Avenue before returning to their car and driving away, they said.
A witness saw the car’s license plate number and provided it to investigators, who learned that Belnavis had been driving that car when it was involved in an accident in Shrewsbury in January, police said. Using the car’s onboard electronics, police quickly tracked it to Hartford, where a relative of Belnavis lived, police wrote in an application for an arrest warrant.
Video allegedly showed Mangual stepping out of the vehicle near the relative’s home, his face visible. He was identified by a police officer who has known him since childhood, police said. The video also showed Mangual wearing the same “distinctive black and purple shoes” that one of the shooters was wearing, officials allege.
In court, prosecutors said both men allegedly opened fire on the SUV. They did not provide a motive for the attack.
Mangual’s lawyer, Richard J. Farrell Jr., questioned whether there was sufficient evidence linking his client to the killings.
Court records show that both alleged shooters have extensive criminal histories and have been repeatedly prosecuted on charges of selling cocaine or marijuana. Mangual also pleaded guilty to shooting a man in Worcester in 2015, and Belnavis was charged with strangling a girlfriend to near unconsciousness in 2018. The woman later asked authorities to drop the charges, records show.
On Tuesday, Mangual was out on bail on drug charges and was scheduled to appear in court the next day.
He was arrested for the slayings in Worcester Wednesday night, prosecutors said.
On Feb. 26, 2022, detectives spotted a BMW sedan that an informant had said was being used to sell cocaine in the Greenwood Street neighborhood.
Detectives followed the car as it made “short meaningless drives” around the city and saw Mangual get in and out of the car a number of times, police said. When they stopped the car, police allegedly recovered eight grams of suspected crack cocaine and $863 in cash, records show.
Mangual pleaded not guilty and was released on $1,000 cash bail, records show.
He was also prosecuted for his role in a non-fatal shooting in Worcester in 2015, according to press accounts and court records. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun, armed assault with intent to murder, and other charges and was sentenced to serve between three and five years in state prison.
On Tuesday, Bobby Jackson, 52, was working in his home office when he heard more than two dozen gunshots. He didn’t see anything when he looked out his window but soon heard sirens.
It wasn’t until the next day that he learned that a woman and her daughter had been killed.
“When you hear that two people passed away, a mother and daughter, it makes you even angrier. How does something like that happen?” he asked.
Steven Hammett, 66, said people have been visiting the family’s home to pay their respects.
“They’re just good people. It’s tragic,” Hammett said. “I feel so bad for them. It’s a great neighborhood, and everybody feels very sad about what’s going on.”