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Background: Icon Norfolk Apartments located on the 300 block of East Main Street in Norfolk, Virginia (Google Maps). Inset: Lina Guerra (Norfolk Police Department).
Virginia officials suspect that a man murdered his wife, concealed her remains in a freezer, and subsequently escaped the country, traveling across the globe.
David Varela, 38, is facing charges of first-degree murder following the death of 39-year-old Lina Guerra, as disclosed by the Norfolk Police Department. In addition, Varela is accused of hiding a body to avoid detection, according to a federal affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime.
On February 5, officers responded to Icon Norfolk Apartments on East Main Street after Guerra’s brother reported her missing, having not heard from her for several weeks, as indicated in the affidavit.
Investigators discovered that Varela, an active reservist with the U.S. Navy, had been uncharacteristically unresponsive to calls from his direct supervisor.
Upon searching the apartment, officers found Guerra deceased inside the kitchen freezer, alongside her cellphone, while Varela’s Tesla remained parked outside, according to the affidavit.
Authorities conducted an autopsy and ruled that Guerra had been killed. A cause of death was not listed in the affidavit.
The investigation continued. Detectives learned, with federal help, that Varela boarded a flight to Hong Kong “on or about Feb. 5, 2026,” with WhatsApp location data “originating” there as well, according to the affidavit. Investigators also learned that Varela had family in Colombia, though they did not see “any discernible ties” to Hong Kong or China.
On Feb. 10, as authorities continued their search for Varela, they charged him with murder.
Guerra’s death has left her family in sorrow, with her aunt, Elizabeth Echavarria, telling area NBC affiliate WAVY, “It’s awful he took my little girl away.”
Guerra’s sister-in-law Paola Ramirez, who lives in Colombia, told local CBS affiliate WTKR that Varela was a jealous husband.
“There had been violence before from David,” Ramirez reportedly said through a translator. “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.”
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi expressed to ABC affiliate WVEC how rarely his office deals with extradition cases. He indicated that his office is working with Interpol to arrest Varela and then work on extraditing him back to Virginia to face his charges.
Law&Crime reached out to the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for an update on the case.