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Missing Woman Found Dead in Freezer: Husband Charged Amid Manhunt | Crime House 24/7
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- [00:01]
Vanessa Richardson
On the Crime House Original podcast Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, we're diving into the psychology of the world's most complex murder cases.
- [00:09]
Dr. Tristan Ingalls
From serial killers to cult leaders, deadly exes and spree killers, we're examining not just how they killed, but why.
- [00:17]
Vanessa Richardson
Is it uncontrollable rage? Overwhelming fear? Or is it something deeper? Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House Studios original new episodes drop every Monday and Thursday Friday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:42]
Crime House Announcer
This is Crime House.
- [00:46]
Vanessa Richardson
Good morning everyone. We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about and we're starting with the biggest one. A missing Virginia woman was found dead inside a freezer at her Virginia home and authorities now believe her Navy husband Charles, charged with murder, has fled to Hong Kong. This is crime house 24 7, your non stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Vanessa Richardson and we have quite a lineup for you today. Here's what you need to know.
- [01:26]
Dr. Tristan Ingalls
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- [01:56]
Vanessa Richardson
Authorities in Norfolk, Virginia have charged a 38 year old man with first degree murder after the body of his missing wife was found inside a freezer at the couple's death downtown home. Police now say the suspect, her husband David Varela, is no longer in the United States and as of this recording, an international manhunt is underway. The investigation began earlier this month on February 2nd, when 39 year old Lena M. Guerra Echeveria of Norfolk was reported missing. According to Virginia State Police, her last known contact had been on January 16. Family members grew concerned when they were unable to reach her for at least two weeks. Her brother ultimately contacted authorities to report her disappearance. As detectives began investigating the missing persons case, the focus turned to the couple's residence in Norfolk. On February 5, while executing a search warrant, investigators located an unresponsive woman inside a kitchen freezer in the apartment they shared together. Norfolk police later confirmed the woman was Lena M. Guerra Echeverria. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say Guerra Echavarria's cell phone was located at the residence. Varela was not at the home, but his Tesla was parked outside. The case quickly shifted from a missing persons investigation to a homicide inquiry after an autopsy was conducted on February 10. And just two days later, on February 12, police announced that Guera Echavarria's husband was charged with concealment of a dead body and first degree murder. The two were married for 11 years. Police say Vella stopped respond repeated calls from his chain of command, something his superiors told detectives was unusual for him. Then authorities learned why, and the police department's job got significantly more complicated. Verella had left town. The Norfolk police, who are now working with the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on the international search, said Vella flew to Hong Kong on February 5, the day authorities found his wife's body. In the affidavit, authorities wrote that there is qu probable cause to believe that David Varela has fled the Commonwealth of Virginia in an attempt to avoid prosecution, end quote. According to public records, Varela is an active duty electrician with the Navy stationed at the Naval Weapons station in Yorktown, Virginia. He first served aboard the USS San Francisco in 2008, later joining the Navy Reserve in Miami in 2017 after a break in service. Over roughly eight years of service, Varela worked on nuclear powered FAST attack submarines and and trained as a submarine and expeditionary warfare specialist, according to the affidavit. Varela has family in Colombia, but investigators do not have reason to believe he has ties to Hong Kong or China. Guerra Echeverria's devastated family members have spoken publicly in the days since her body was discovered. Her aunt, Elizabeth Echeverria, spoke to reporters at Wavy TV from her home in Colombia and described her niece as responsible. Elizabeth said Guer Echavarria and Vella met years ago and got married in Florida. Elizabeth had concerns, however, and alleged Vella had been violent with her niece in the past. In an interview with WTKR tv, Guer Echavarria's sister in law, Paola Ramirez, spoke through a translator and described Verela as a jealous husband. Ramirez, who is married to Guer Chavara's brother and lives in Colombia, said he wouldn't let her work, wouldn't let her have friends, wouldn't let her study and wouldn't let alone she told WTKR reposts that quote, I want to emphasize that there had been violence before from David. He had hit her previously, but she didn't tell us because she didn't want to worry us. He appeared to be very religious, very calm, normal. That's why this is so shocking. We never imagined he'd do something like this, end quote. Family members also described what they say Vella told them in the weeks before her body was discovered. According to WTKR, during the roughly 2 guer Chavara was missing, Vella told his wife's relatives in Colombia that she had been arrested on shoplifting charges and was in jail. Relatives said he sent them a photo of the couple together, claiming it showed him visiting her behind bars. They said Guerra appeared to be wearing what looked like an orange jumpsuit. Ramirez told WTKR that Vella messaged her, saying he, quote, has not stopped crying and hasn't eaten in more than a day, end quote, because of his wife's alleged incarce. But court records show Guerra was never charged with or convicted of shoplifting. Investigators have not disclosed how long Guerra's body may have been inside the freezer, nor have they released information about the cause of death beyond the ruling of homicide or an official motive. As of this recording, Varela has not been taken into custody. But Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney Ramin Fatehi is seeking to extradite Varela back to the US to face the charges. And in Manhattan, jurors have begun deliberations in the trial of a man accused of killing four men as they slept, with defense attorneys arguing he was legally insane at the time of the attacks. Jurors are set to begin deliberating February 19th in the trial of 31 year old Randy Rodriguez Santos, the man accused of bludgeoning four men to death as they slept on New York City's streets during a pre dawn rampage in October 2009. Prosecutors say the violence began just before 2am on October 5, 2019 in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood. Armed with a 15 pound metal bar, Santos allegedly moved from block to block targeting men who were sleeping on sidewalks. Authorities say he struck 83 year old Schwen Kwok, 39 year old Florencio Moran Camano, 49 year old Nasario Vasquez Villegas and 49 year old Anthony L. Manson in the head as they lay on the ground. A fifth man survived the attack. Assistant District Attorney Alfred Peterson told jurors that the assaults unfolded within minutes and were deliberate. He described repeated blows directed at the victim's skulls and argued that Santos acted intentionally. Officers responding to emergency calls arrested him shortly afterward and according to testimony, he was still holding a bloodied metal bar when taken into custody. Forensic testing later identified blood and DNA on the weapon that prosecutors say links him directly to the killings. The state also presented evidence of an earlier assault. Roughly a week before the Chinatown attacks. Prosecutors say Santos struck a sleeping man with a stick in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood but fled when bystanders intervened. Thankfully, that victim survived. Peterson characterized the earlier assault as a trial run, arguing that Santos later went on the hunt for a more lethal weapon before carrying out the October 5th killings. The defense has not disputed that Santos carried out the assaults but has centered its case on his mental state. His attorney, Marnie Lee Zean, told jurors that Santos was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was experiencing severe psychosis at the time, according to defense testimony. He heard voices and believed he needed to kill 40 people to save his own life. Ze argued that Santos lacked the substantial capacity to know or appreciate that his actions were morally wrong, which is the legal standard in New York for a verdict of not criminally responsible by reason of mental disease or defect. Jurors also heard evidence about Santos's history of instability, including prior arrests and periods of homelessness in the years leading up to the attacks. After his arrest, Santos told investigators he remembered traveling downtown that night but said much of what happened was unclear to him. Prosecutors maintain that whatever mental health struggles he experienced, the evidence shows he understood what he was doing. Jurors must now weigh those competing arguments and decide whether the defense has met its burden of establishing legal insanity at the time of the crimes, a high threshold under state law. Closing arguments concluded February 18th in New York State Supreme Court, bringing weeks of testimony and more than six years since the attacks to a pivotal stage. Santos has pleaded not guilty to four counts of first degree murder. If convicted on the highest charges, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. If, instead, jurors find him not criminally responsible, he would be committed to a secure psychiatric facility under court supervision. And while jurors in Manhattan begin to deliberate, authorities in Virginia are now investigating a deadly hit and run that claimed the life of a promising young editor.
- [11:19]
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- [12:36]
Vanessa Richardson
A judge in Richmond, Virginia denied bail on February 18th for 34 year old Letitia Coleman, the woman accused in a hit and run crash that killed 23 year old Virginia Living editor Hope Cartwright. Earlier this week, Coleman made her first court appearance in Richmond General District Court, where she was formally advised of the charge of felony hit and run resulting in death. Prosecutors argued that the seriousness of the allegation and the claim that she left the scene without rendering aid justified holding her without bond. The judge agreed and ordered Coleman detained. She is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing at a later date. The charge stems from a crash that occurred shortly before 5pm on Feb. 16 at the intersection of East, East Cary and South Second streets in Richmond's Museum District near the Virginia Living offices. According to police, Cartwright was walking home from work, crossing the street, when a vehicle turning left struck her. Some of Cartwright's co workers witnessed the immediate aftermath and stayed at her side until paramedics arrived. Officers found her critically injured and she was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries. Investigators say the driver did not remain at the scene. Richmond police used traffic camera footage and automatic license plate reader data to identify the vehicle and its registered owner in about an hour after the crash, identifying Coleman as the suspect. Authorities allege she was behind the wheel of the vehicle that struck Cartwright and knowingly left without stopping to provide assistance or identifying herself as required under Virginia law. Coleman was taken into custody Feb. 17. Cartwright worked as an associate editor for Virginia Living magazine. A native of Traverse City, Michigan, she was a recent graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism and had been with the publication for nearly two years. In statements following her death, the publication described her as an exceptional young journalist whose career was just beginning. Her death has left co workers and readers in shock and mourning. Police have not publicly disclosed whether speed, distraction or impairment were factors, and investigators have said the case remains active as they continue reviewing evidence. Under Virginia law, a felony hit and run resulting in death is punishable by significant prison time. If convicted, prosecutors must prove that the defendant was the driver involved and that she knowingly failed to stop and render aid after the crash. And as this case proceeds in Richmond, we go back to New York, where a separate legal battle is unfolding over allegations that a man lived rent free for years inside a Manhattan residence. A New York City man has pleaded guilty to a fraud scheme in Manhattan that centered on one of the city's most iconic landmarks, the New Yorker hotel. On Wednesday, February 18, 2026, 49 year old Mickey Barretto entered a guilty ple to a felony count of filing a false instrument in the New York State Supreme Court. Barretto admitted he forged property records in a long running effort to take control of the historic Midtown hotel. As part of a plea agreement, Barretto was sentenced to six months in prison time. Prosecutors say he has already served, followed by five years of probation. Prosecutors say Barretto's legal Saga began in 2018 when he and his boyfriend paid roughly $200 to rent a room at the New Yorker Hot, an Art Deco style high rise building near Penn Station. Citing an obscure city housing law that applies to single room occupants in buildings constructed before 1969, Barreto pressed the hotel for a lease. A judge temporarily awarded him possession of the room after the hotel did not send an attorney to a key hearing in housing court. Barretto continued to live in the hotel rent free for years. But authorities say Barretto escalated his claims in 2019, uploading forged deed and other fraudulent documents to a New York City property records website that falsely indicated he had acquired ownership of the entire hotel. The building is owned by the Holy Spirit association for the Unification of World Christianity, also known as the Unification Church. Prosecutors said Barretto also tried to collect rent from another hotel resident and tried to gain access to the building's financial accounts while he claimed to own the property. Barretto was eventually evicted from the hotel in 2024 and charged with multiple felony counts, including fraud. But months later he was deemed unfit for trial after completing a court ordered psychiatric exam that showed he did not fully understand the criminal proceedings against him. He underwent psychiatric treatment before returning to court to resolve the charges. Under the terms of the plea, Barreto will remain under supervision for five years and must abide by the conditions set by the court. What drives a person to kill? Is it uncontrollable rage? Overwhelming fear? Unbearable jealousy? Or is it something deeper something in the darkest corners of our psyche.
- [18:10]
Dr. Tristan Ingalls
Every Monday and Thursday, the Crime House Original Podcast Serial Killers and Murderous Minds dives deep into the minds of history's most chilling murderers. From infamous serial killers to ruthless cult leaders, deadly exes and terrifying spree killers. I'm Dr. Tristan Ingalls, a licensed forensic psychologist. Along with Vanessa Richardson's immersive storytelling full of high stakes twists and turns, in every episode of Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, I'll be providing expert analysis of the people involved, not just how they killed, but why.
- [18:46]
Vanessa Richardson
Serial Killers and Murderous Minds is a Crime House Studios original new episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts. Before you go, let me tell you about what else is happening at Crime House this week. Murder True Crime Stories is covering the Octopus murders, the death of investigative writer Danny Casillaro, who believed he was uncovering a vast web of interconnected scandals. His case lives in that uneasy space between journalism and danger, where powerful institutions intersect with unanswered questions. When journalists start pulling on threads connected to intelligence agencies, organized crime, political corruption or state violence, the stakes shift quickly. Investigative reporting can expose money trails, power networks, covert operations and criminal enterprises that were never meant to see daylight. And in some cases, the cost of uncovering those truths becomes devastatingly personal. Danny Casalaro is not alone in that history. Around the world, journalists have faced intimidation, violence and death while investigating corruption or criminal networks. Here are five journalists whose death were directly connected to their work or remain deeply shadowed by what they were uncovering. Suffering 1. Javier Valdez Cardenas Javier Valdez was one of Mexico's most respected investigative journalists, known for his reporting on drug cartels operating in Sinaloa. As co founder of the newspaper Rio Doce, Valdez spent years documenting how cartel violence shaped everyday life. He wrote about traffickers, political corruption, forced disappearances and the normalization of brutality in regions controlled by organized crime. Valdez's reporting was not sensational. He focused on victims and communities. He named the networks responsible for bloodshed that made him dangerous to powerful figures who relied on silence. On May 15, 2017, Valdez was shot and killed in broad daylight near his newsroom in Culiacan. Gunmen intercepted him as he left work and fled the scene. Mexican authorities later arrested and convicted individuals tied to the Sinaloa cartel, linking the murder directly to his reporting. Valdez had reportedly been working on stories involving internal cartel disputes and power struggles. His killing sent shock waves across the journalism world and renewed scrutiny on Mexico's record. For journalist safety, he became one of dozens of reporters killed in the country in the past two decades. His death stands as a clear example of a journalist murdered for what he uncovered and a warning about the risks of exposing organized crime in environments where cartels exert territorial control. Number two, Anna Politkovskaya Anna Politkovskaya was internationally known for her investigations into the Chechen wars and alleged human rights abuses by Russian military and security forces. Writing for the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, she detailed torture, disappearances and corruption tied to state actors. Her reporting placed her in direct conflict with powerful political figures. She received death threats and was detained while attempting to cover the beslin School Hostage Crisis 2004. That same year, she fell violently ill after drinking tea on a flight, an incident widely believed to have been a poisoning attempt. On October 7, 2006, Pitkovskaya was shot four times in the elevator of her Moscow apartment building. The killing was carried out with precision and was widely considered a contract assassination. Several individuals were later convicted of carrying out the murder, but the identity of whoever ordered it remains unresolved in the public record. Her newsp described the killing as a message, and many observers interpreted it as retaliation for her relentless investigations into state misconduct. Politkovskaya's work threatened narratives promoted by those in power. Her death became a symbol of the danger faced by journalists who challenged state authority in authoritarian environments. Number three, Jamal Khashoggi Jamal Khashoggi began his career as a Saudi journalist with close ties to the establishment. But over time, he became increasingly critical of the government's direction. After leaving Saudi Arabia, he wrote columns for the Washington Post addressing repression, censorship and the concentration of power. On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to obtain documents for his upcoming marriage. Surveillance footage showed him entering. He was never seen exiting. Turkish investigators later concluded that Khashoggi was killed inside the consulate by a team that had traveled from Saudi Arabia specifically for the operation. Intelligence agencies, including the CIA, assessed that the killing had been authorized at high levels of the Saudi government. Details of the murder were disturbing and deliberate. Khashoggi's body was never publicly recovered. The assassination sparked international outrage, sanctions and diplomatic fallout. Unlike many cases clouded in uncertainty, this killing was widely acknowledged as an act of political violence carried out against a journalist whose writing challenged those in power. It underscored how far a state actor could reach to silence dissent. Number four Daphne Caruana Galizia. Daphne Caruana Galizia was Malta's most prominent investigative journalist. Her blog and reporting exposed corruption, offshore financial networks and political patronage involving some of the country's most powerful figures. She was instrumental in revealing how Maltese officials were linked to shell companies exposed in the Panama paper. Galicia faced lawsuits, harassment campaigns and ongoing intimidation. Her work consistently scrutinized political elites and financial dealings that crossed international borders. On October 16, 2017, a bomb planted under her car detonated shortly after she left her home. The explosion killed her instantly. The assassination stunned Europe. Malta, a member of the European Union, was forced into intense international scrutiny. Investigations led to arrests and convictions of individuals connected to the bombing, including businessmen and intermediaries. Public inquiries later revealed serious governance failures and close relationships between political figures and individuals implicated in the crime. Galicia's murder was not random. It followed years of exposing corruption that reached into the highest levels of government. Her death became a defining case about the vulnerability of journalists confronting financial crime and political power within democratic systems. Number 5 Gary Webb Gary Webb was an investigative journalist whose 1996 Dark alliance series alleged that individuals connected to CIA backed Contra operations were involved in drug trafficking networks that contributed to the crack cocaine epidemic in the United States. The series sparked national controversy and led to congressional inquiries. Webb argued that Contra linked figures played a role in distributing cocaine that flooded American cities. His reporting was fiercely challenged by major newspapers and his newspaper eventually distanced itself from aspects of the series under mounting pressure. While later internal government investigations acknowledged that individuals connected to the Contras had engaged in drug trafficking, they disputed the extent of institutional knowledge. Webb's professional reputation suffered and he struggled to regain footing in mainstream journalism. In 2004, Webb was found dead from gunshot wounds in what authorities ruled a suicide. The ruling remains official, but the circumstances have fueled years of speculation among those who believe his reporting made him a target. There is no confirmed evidence that Webb was murdered. However, his career collapse following explosive allegations involving intelligence operations has kept his story embedded in discussions about journalist vulnerability and institutional retalia. Investigative journalism often operates in the space where crime, corruption, intelligence operations and political power overlap. Javier Valdez exposed cartel networks and was killed for it. Anna Politkovskaya reported on state abuses and was assassinated. Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside a diplomatic building. Daphne Caruana Galicia was killed by a car bomb after exposing financial corruption. Gary Webb's controversial reporting on intelligence linked drug trafficking continues to generate debate decades later. The Octopus murder story fits into this lineage not because every detail aligns, but because it exists in the same dangerous territory where journalists pursue complicated truths that powerful actors would prefer remain hidden. For the full deep dive into the Octopus murders and the death of Danny Casalara, listen to this week's. Episode of Murder True Crime Stories. Sometimes the most dangerous crime isn't what happened, it's what someone was trying to prove. You've been listening to Crime House 24 7, bringing you breaking crime news. I'm Vanessa Richardson. We'll be back Monday morning with more developing stories. Stay safe and thanks for listening. What drives a person to murder? Find out from a licensed forensic psychologist on Serial Killers and Murderous Minds, a Crime House Original podcast. New episodes drop every Monday and Thursday. Follow wherever you get your podcasts.