Worcester, Massachusetts, United States residents Karel Mangual, 28, and Dejan Dante Belnavis, 27, are accused of killing Chasity Nunez, 27, and her daughter Zella Nunez, 11. Born in Worcester, Chasity attended Worcester State University in Worcester and the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, USA and served in the Connecticut National Guard for four years before her death.
Mangual has a history of alleged violence. In 2015, he was arrested after a retaliatory shooting behind an apartment building on View Street in Worcester.
Belnavis has almost 20 criminal cases in Worcester. He does not have a license to carry a gun.
At around 3:00 p.m. on March 2, 2024, Mangual and Belnavis allegedly opened fire on a sport utility vehicle parked on Lisbon Street at Englewood Avenue in Worcester. Inside the vehicle were Chasity and Zella, who were fatally shot.
Police officers traced Mangual and Belnavis’s getaway car to Belnavis’s relatives in Hartford, Connecticut. After leaving the car there, Belnavis fled to San Diego, California, USA.
On March 6, 2024, Mangual was arrested, arraigned and held without bail. In other cases, police referred to him as a violent gang member.
On March 11, 2024, U.S. Marshals took Belnavis into custody after a traffic stop in San Diego. Both he and Mangual were charged with armed assault with intent to murder and carrying a firearm without a license.
CONAN Daily 