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Florida Man Allegedly Stabbed Wife To Death In Front Of Her Kid Before Killing Self
At least one of Byanca Tovar's young children watched his stepfather, Oscar Salazar, stab her to death during an argument over disciplining his younger brother.
A Florida father allegedly stabbed his wife to death in front of at least one of the couple’s three young children before killing himself earlier this week, according to law enforcement.
Authorities responded to a call to 911 after a 10-year-old boy went to a neighbor's home at around 6:00 p.m. on Oct. 17 and told that person that his stepfather, Oscar Salazar, had attacked his mother with a knife in their Deltona, Florida home, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.
“The 10-year-old runs to the neighbor, screaming for help that his stepdad is stabbing his mom,” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood stated. “Those folks call 911.”
Upon arrival, deputies found Byanca Cruz Tovar, 26, with multiple stab wounds, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her husband, Oscar Salazar was found suffering from a self-inflicted knife wounds to his neck and was rushed to hospital, where he later died.
Police say Salazar fatally stabbed his wife after the couple had gotten into a heated argument involving disciplining the couple’s 5-year-old son.
According to authorities, three children — ages 10, 5 and 2 — were inside the home at the time of the deadly knife attack, though none were injured.
Cruz’s 10-year-old son told investigators that he'd witnessed Salazar stab his mother, which Chitwood called "sickening” at a press conference Tuesday.
"For the 10-year-old to have witnessed that, I can’t imagine what the rest of their lives are going to be like,” he added, WFTV reported
Police said Salazar was the biological father of the couple’s two youngest children. He was an undocumented immigrant from Mexico and had been living in the country under an assumed identity — Alberto Garcia — that police say he stole from a man in Texas, according to authorities, Fox News reported.
"What we find out is Alberto Garcia – that's identity theft," Chitwood said. "Somewhere along the line, Oscar Salazar came into the country illegally and got this guy's identification cloned."
The Salazar had been arrested twice before the murder for domestic assault-related incident involving Cruz, including once in 2016 while she was pregnant.
“It’s classic domestic violence,” Chitwood said. “There’s a history there.”
The 10-year-old child has since been placed in the care of his biological father. The couple’s two remaining children are now in custody of their maternal grandmother. No further information was released by law enforcement this week.
