Lina M. Guerra Echavarria
Posted on 04/17/2026 3:41:43 AM PDT by DFG
A Navy reservist from Virginia who was accused of murdering his wife after her body was found in their freezer was arrested in Hong Kong, ending a two-month international manhunt, authorities said Wednesday.
David Varela, 38, is expected to be charged with first-degree murder after the "successful overseas apprehension," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement.
Varela was apprehended late Tuesday in the former British colony and taken Wednesday to San Francisco, where he appeared before Magistrate Judge Alex Tse on Thursday.
Tse ordered federal marshals to take Varela to the federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Varela "has been on the run for over two months attempting to avoid prosecution for these heinous crimes, but justice doesn’t forget," Patel said.
Lina M. Guerra, 39, was reported missing in early February by her brother after he couldn't reach her for more than two weeks, FBI Special Agent Connor Patrick Maguire wrote in an affidavit supporting Varela's arrest on a federal charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Varela didn't return calls from his Navy superiors, and detectives searching the couple’s home found Guerra "deceased in the kitchen freezer," Maguire wrote.
The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.
Varela flew to Hong Kong around Feb. 5, and WhatsApp data soon showed he was in the special administrative region of China, the FBI agent said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Lina M. Guerra Echavarria
Their love grew cold.
Sick jerk. Kill US enemies, not your wives and girlfriends, you are supposed to PROTECT your wives and girlfriends, you stupid morons. GET IT RIGHT.
“That a Coldspot baby, yeah, that’s a bad thing.” — SRV
WTH is going on in Virginia?
CC
Considering where he fled, I’d have a look at him for more than murder...
t’s not clear why Varela is alleged to have fled to the Chinese-controlled city, as his family is from Colombia
And she was from Columbia too. Abuse, etc. is acceptable in that culture. Just importing the best and brightest!
DEMOCRATS!!!
I know!!! I’ll stuff her body into a freezer and split to Hong Kong! Yeah that’s the ticket.
Yes it is clear. He was trying to get to the PRC which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with the US, though HK does. It takes a week to ten days to get the visa to visit China from China Travel Services.
“DEMOCRATS!!!”
Yup, that’ll do it!
CC
He probably wasn't too clear either.
30 years after its handover from the UK, Hong Kong, while still a seemingly open city, has all the security technology tracking and ID controls that China has, and China runs it. It would be impossible for anyone, especially a foreigner and Columbian, to blend-in and disappear.
Just curious…no mention of his rate or rank in any of this or any article retrieved.
Spanberger responds with an order to ban the Navy.
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