Friday, April 6, 2012

Phoenix, AZ: Murdered mom was pregnant, police search for husband

PHOENIX -- A spokesman with the Phoenix Police Department says the mother found stabbed to death at an apartment complex on March 26 was pregnant.

Investigators are now looking for the victim's estranged husband.

"We have identified her estranged husband as the suspect in this case and have secured an arrest warrant from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in this case for two counts of first-degree murder." said Sgt. Trent Crump.

That man is Gilbert Villarreal, 24, described as a Hispanic male who might be hiding in Mexico.

According to Crump, "The second count is actually and unfortunately the result of the fact that during the autopsy we discovered she was pregnant."

Sheila Lomes, 22, was found stabbed to death at a North Phoenix apartment complex. Her 2-year-old child was found nearby, unharmed.

Several residents of the Bayside Apartments on 32nd Drive just north of Beardsley Road called police to report hearing a woman screaming.

When officers arrived on the scene just after midnight, they found Lomes hunched over on the landing outside one of the second-floor apartments near the entrance to the gated complex. She had been stabbed to death. Police discovered a knife near her body. They believe it is the murder weapon.

It's not clear if the woman was killed on the landing where she was found or if she went up to that apartment for help after she had been stabbed.

Villarreal and Lomes were married in July 20011. According to court records, Lomes filed a domestic violence case and requested a restraining order against Villarreal. Villarreal filed for divorce in November. The two reconciled in February, one month before Lomes was found dead and police named her Villarreal as the suspect in her murder and the murder of her unborn child.

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