BOSTON (WHDH) - A Boston man accused of fatally stabbing his wife in broad daylight on Sunday was ordered held without bail by a judge on Monday.
Valdir Chaves, 43, pleaded not guilty to a charge of murder in connection with the death of 38-year-old Dora Chaves.
Officers responding to reports of a stabbing in the area of Clarence Street in Roxbury around 12:15 p.m. found Dora Chaves suffering from multiple stab wounds, police said.
She was taken to an area hospital where she succumbed to her injuries, according to police.
Valdir Chaves, who was said to be covered in blood, was arrested at the scene.
“Mr. Chaves came out with blood on him,” a prosecutor told the court. “The first officer to come up the stairs to the apartment encountered Mr. Chavis, who put his hands behind his back and said he was ready to get arrested.”
The stabbing allegedly happened as friends, neighbors, and family members were nearby.
“I heard her mom scream,” said Maria Teixeira, a neighbor of the victim. “So I said ‘let me go outside to see what’s going on in the street.’ When I came her mom was on the street crying and crying, saying ‘I want to see my daughter.’”
Family members told 7NEWS that the couple had been married for almost 15 years with two children and said the woman called police on her husband in the morning because he was acting aggressively. He allegedly left their home only to come back a couple hours later, according to family members.
Valdir Chaves’ attorney, Earl Howard, says his client remembers the argument but has no memory of what happened after.
“Not that he blacked out but just the emotion of what has transpired has caused him to be somewhat confused,” he said. “It’s disastrous.”
Suffolk District Attorney Rachael Rollins said, “We have a family that is going to be deeply impacted by what happened here, and I really hope we’re going to be speaking more about domestic violence and the work we have to do to try to end it.”
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