A Florida man, who was living illegally in the country, stabbed his wife to death and then slit his own throat in front of his three children on Monday, according to authorities. Oscar Mercado Salazar, 31, stabbed his wife Byanca Cruz Tovar, 26, multiple times before killing himself as the children watched in shock and ran for their lives.
According to police, cops were alerted after one of the three children ran to a neighbor's house and told that his stepfather stabbed his mother. The neighbor then alerted the police. The youngster also told officials that his stepfather attempted to stab him but he managed to escape.
Horrific Murder-Suicide
Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a home in Deltona Just after six o'clock in the evening, after a neighbor reported that a 10-year-old kid had run to his house for assistance because his stepfather had stabbed his mother. Before dialing 911, the neighbor informed police that he went inside the house and discovered a man and a woman lying on the floor with two unhurt children.
The neighbor said that he found Cruz and Salazar with "apparent sharp force injuries" — along with two young children, who were unharmed.
Cruz was pronounced dead by deputies at the scene, while Salazar was sent to a nearby hospital with a faint pulse before being declared dead an hour later.
He was the biological father of Cruz's two younger children, who were two and five years old. According to Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, Salazar and Cruz had a dispute over the behavior of their 5-year-old when the awful murder-suicide occurred.
Chitwood pointed out that Salazar was residing illegally in the nation and had taken on the persona of a man who was not involved but had had his truck and identification stolen in Texas several years ago.
Dark Past
Not only was Salazar staying in Florida illegally, he also had two prior arrests for two domestic assaults involving his wife — including one while she was pregnant in 2016, Chitwood said.
"This is really, really a heartbreaking story," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said in a news conference Tuesday.
"It is sickening on one end, again when you look you have their three little kids involved here, a 10-year-old, a 5-year-old and a 2-year-old who don't have their mother anymore."
According to officials, the family moved in approximately five months ago, during which time there had been no calls to the house from the police. However, officers claimed they learnt of many instances of loud arguments originating from the house during the course of the inquiry.
According to investigators, Salazar had been living here illegally under the name Albertico Garza, a US citizen who had his truck and ID stolen in Texas years before. According to authorities, the 10-year-old kid is now in his father's custody, while their smaller siblings are being raised by their maternal grandmother.
