nset: Krista Hunt (Skagit County Sheriff”s Office). Background: Juan Delgado appears in Skagit County court (KING/YouTube). I
In a disturbing case from Washington, a 42-year-old man is facing severe charges after being accused of murdering his girlfriend and disposing of her body in a river. Authorities have linked Juan Delgado to the crime through critical evidence, including the discovery of clumps of his girlfriend’s hair and traces of blood found in his vehicle.
The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office has charged Delgado with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 37-year-old Krista Hunt. The announcement from the Sheriff’s Office came while Delgado was already in custody at the Skagit County Jail on unrelated charges, indicating a complex legal situation.
Krista Hunt was reported missing on February 1, as noted in a flyer issued by local law enforcement. The flyer mentioned that she was last seen in the rural town of Concrete, located in the northern part of the state, which added urgency to the search efforts at the time.
According to Pamela Hunt, Krista’s mother, her daughter was last sighted on January 25. Krista was reportedly with a man believed to be her boyfriend, Delgado. She had apparently run out of gas near a local restaurant and left the truck to walk. Pamela Hunt further alleged that Delgado had a history of abusive behavior towards her daughter.
“She did in fact have a broken leg,” Pamela Hunt recounted in an interview with NBC affiliate KING, highlighting a past incident where she had to rush her daughter to the hospital. “She said he had boot-stomped her leg and her chest … She mentioned that he once set a timer and threatened to hit her every 15 minutes,” she added, painting a grim picture of the relationship.
An affidavit shared by the TV station shows that when a deputy contacted Delgado by phone on Feb. 1, the defendant said he had not heard from her in five days yet wanted to return her two dogs. Delgado also “explained there had been issues in his and Krista’s relationship in the past but believed they were currently on good terms.”
In a tragic twist, just two days following Krista’s disappearance being reported, Delgado attempted to take his own life at a bar in the small Washington town. He survived the attempt and later expressed to authorities that he “missed Krista,” a comment that adds another layer of complexity to this troubling case.
Weeks after she went missing, a body was found in the Skagit River, which runs right beneath Concrete. The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office announced on March 18, the county coroner had confirmed the remains as belonging to Krista Hunt.
The coroner could not determine an exact cause of death but detailed injuries such as a broken neck, a broken jaw, and broken ribs, according to KING. Delgado had reportedly told friends his girlfriend had been hit by a car.
Delgado is being detained on $1 million bail.
The victim’s family has been left distraught by her death.
“I can’t imagine the pain my mom is going through right now,” Hunt’s brother told KING. “I know the pain I’m going through. And it’s hard … He stole 60 years of my relationship with Krista.”
