Authorities in Worcester have ramped up their manhunt with a $5,000 bounty on the head of Dejan Dante Belnavis, the 27-year-old fugitive accused in the tragic shooting of a mother and her young daughter. According to CBS News Boston, the U.S. Marshals confirmed the reward for information directly leading to the capture of Belnavis, who is on the lam and considered armed and dangerous.
The hunt intensified following the grim discovery of Chasity Nunez, 27, and her 11-year-old daughter Zella, who were both fatally shot on Englewood Avenue while sitting in their SUV, now riddled with bullets. In an effort to swiftly move ahead, police are combing through leads and calling for the public's assistance to track down Belnavis, who is wanted for armed assault with intent to murder and possession of a firearm without a license.
A second suspect in the case, 28-year-old Karel Mangual, has already been arraigned on similar charges and is currently being held without bail. Boston 25 News reports that both Mangual and Belnavis have lengthy rap sheets, court documents reveal. The investigation is ongoing, with police sifting through the chilling scene left behind: a white SUV that became a tomb for the mother and daughter, its windows shattered from a barrage of gunfire.
Witnesses reported seeing two men unleash a "fairly high number" of shots into the vehicle before fleeing in a white car, potentially heading towards Hartford, home to some of Belnavis' relatives. The Worcester Police Department's Sgt. Sean Murtha described the onslaught in a statement obtained by Boston 25 News. Meanwhile, the community struggles to come to grips with the loss of one of its own: Chasity Nunez, a former member of the Connecticut National Guard, and Zella, a student in Worcester Public Schools.
As the search intensifies, the authorities urge anyone with information on Belnavis or the circumstances surrounding this heinous crime to immediately come forward. Contacts to either Worcester Police or Massachusetts State Police could turn the tide in this case.
