Prosecutors report that after witnessing his girlfriend’s murder, a man was coerced into wearing the victim’s dress and wig, then forced by the suspects to navigate the Florida mangroves to dispose of her body.

The case unfolded shortly after 9 p.m. on Friday when the man approached the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to report the death of his girlfriend, 41-year-old Hiojaira Mercedes Velez-Bonilla.

He had a grim tale to tell.

The witness revealed that Velez-Bonilla lived with her two teenage sons and her cousin, 37-year-old Giselle Marie Santiago Bonilla, who had recently moved to their residence in the 11000 block of Maybrook Avenue in Riverview, close to Tampa. Early Friday, an argument erupted between Velez-Bonilla and her cousin’s boyfriend, 42-year-old Arnaldo Cintron, over household expenses and chores, as detailed in a motion for pretrial detention.

Cintron reportedly pushed Velez-Bonilla to the ground, seized a knife, and repeatedly stabbed her while yelling obscenities. When her boyfriend attempted to flee, Cintron and his girlfriend hindered his escape, trapping him in the kitchen, prosecutors described.

“I don’t like witnesses,” Cintron allegedly said.

The suspects compelled the witness to assist in cleaning up the aftermath, warning he could be next if he refused, he recounted to investigators. They confiscated his cellphone, according to the motion. The suspects and the witness allegedly spent between two to four hours tidying up the scene. Throughout this time, Cintron repeatedly claimed to the witness that he “did this for him,” while Santiago Bonilla remarked that the victim was “evil” and deserved it because of how she treated the witness, as prosecutors narrated.

At one point, the victim’s son apparently came out of his room to ask where his mother was and inquired about the mess. According to the motion, Cintron and Santiago Bonilla told the teen that they were cleaning up a spilled drink and his mom left to go be with another man.

Next, the suspects allegedly made the witness put on one of the victim’s long dresses and don one of her wigs. They collected the cleaning supplies and the alleged murder weapon and dumped them in a trash bag, and Velez-Bonilla’s body was stuffed into a cardboard box and covered with porch screening, the motion said. The suspects allegedly placed the body and trash bag in the victim’s vehicle and forced the witness to drive to an apartment complex to meet a man he knew as “Tarzan.”

“You know one eye Willy is in the back,” Cintron allegedly told “Tarzan” once he entered the car, an apparent reference to the victim, who wore an eye patch due to a medical condition, the motion said.

Cintron, his girlfriend Santiago Bonilla, and “Tarzan” then allegedly discussed the best ways of getting rid of the victim’s body. Santiago Bonilla suggested they kick the victim’s teeth in and cut off her hands to make it harder to identify her, prosecutors wrote. Eventually, they decided to drive over the Gandy Bridge to St. Petersburg and to a secluded area in the Weedon Island Natural Preserve, the motion stated. They ended up driving back into an area of “dense mangroves” — trees native to The Sunshine State — and parked.

They then allegedly removed the cardboard box with the body and dragged it deep into the mangroves, where they dumped her body. After driving away, the suspects realized they also left behind the trash bag with cleaning supplies and murder weapon, the motion said, so they forced the victim to go back and retrieve it. According to prosecutors, they drove away and dumped the trash bag at an apartment complex.

The defendants then allegedly ordered the witness to clean the car. Cintron also accessed the victim’s bank account, which had a balance of more than $30,000, and offered some of the money to the witness, prosecutors wrote.

After the interview, the witness showed investigators where he dumped his girlfriend’s body.

Cintron stands accused of second-degree murder, unlawfully moving a dead body, tampering with evidence and tampering with a witness. He is in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond. Santiago Bonilla is facing charges of unlawfully moving a dead body, tampering with evidence, accessory after the fact and tampering with a witness. She has a $200,000 bond. They are scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

“This was a brutal act of violence followed by a callous attempt to cover it up,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “No life should ever be taken in such a senseless manner, and no attempt to conceal a crime will shield those responsible from justice. Our detectives were relentless, ensuring both individuals were held accountable, and they will now face the full weight of the law.”