Arnaldo Cintron during a bond motion hearing in Tampa, Florida (Courtesy of WFLA).
A Florida man, who was coerced into wearing his deceased girlfriend’s clothes and wig after witnessing her murder, shared additional harrowing allegations during a court session on Monday. He was also compelled to assist in concealing her remains and cleaning the crime scene.
Elga Davis II, 29, testified during a hearing for pretrial detention for the accused murderer, 42-year-old Arnaldo Cintron.
The victim, 41-year-old Hiojaira Mercedes Velez-Bonilla, was in a relationship with Davis and shared her home with her cousin, 37-year-old Giselle Marie Santiago Bonilla. Cintron was identified as Santiago Bonilla’s boyfriend.
According to Davis, Cintron and the Velez-Bonilla were yelling at each other in Spanish prior to the violent clash.
“I heard an argument and then him saying, ‘don’t call me names anymore,'” Davis recounted in court, according to footage from local NBC affiliate WFLA.
That’s when Cintron allegedly took a knife to Velez-Bonilla’s throat.
“I was just sitting there, and suddenly I heard her being struck in the throat,” Davis described, imitating the noise his girlfriend made. “I tried to move over there, and then I saw her on the ground,” noting that Velez-Bonilla was twisting on the floor at that moment.
Cintron repeatedly stabbed Velez-Bonilla, Davis said. After Cintron stopped the brutal attack, he turned his attention to Davis.
“To be honest, I was momentarily frozen, but then I realized I was in danger and tried to create some distance,” Davis explained. “That’s when he approached me with a knife, saying he didn’t want any witnesses, you understand?”
Davis described himself as being “terrified” as Cintron spoke about “how bad a person she is,” referring to the victim.
They then needed a place to store the victim’s body and grabbed a box in the garage, Davis said.
“Did she fit in the box?” a prosecutor asked.
The witness paused for a beat. “Yes, but we had to make it fit.”
Davis said he was never in control of the situation.
“I just did what I was told,” he said.
The judge determined there was enough evidence to keep Cintron in jail without bond.
Law&Crime had earlier reported that the investigation was set in motion shortly after 9 p.m. on August 15, when Davis approached the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office to disclose the murder of his girlfriend.
Insets, left to right: Arnaldo Cintron and Giselle Marie Santiago Bonilla (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Home in Riverview, Florida, where Cintron allegedly stabbed a woman to death (WTVT).
According to Davis, Velez-Bonilla lived with her two teenage sons and Santiago Bonilla, who recently moved into the home in the 11000 block of Maybrook Avenue in Riverview, near Tampa. In the early morning hours of Aug. 15, Velez-Bonilla and Cintron argued about paying bills and completing chores around the house, a motion for pretrial detention stated.
Cintron allegedly shoved Velez-Bonilla to the floor, grabbed a knife and began repeatedly stabbing her while shouting “b—, b—, b—.” Davis tried to head to the exit, but Cintron and Santiago Bonilla blocked his path, “cornering him” in the kitchen, prosecutors wrote.
The defendants then proceeded to force Davis to “help them clean it up” or he “was next,” the witness told investigators. They also took his cellphone, the motion stated. The witness and suspects allegedly spent the next two to four hours cleaning up. As they cleaned, Cintron repeatedly told Davis that he “did this for him” and Santiago Bonilla said the victim was “evil, and she deserved this for the way she treated” the witness, prosecutors wrote.
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.
Cintron stands accused of second-degree murder, unlawfully moving a dead body, tampering with evidence and tampering with a witness. 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.”
