A man with a history of domestic violence has been arrested in the murder of his children’s mother, reports People.
Police in Salinas, California said two of their toddler children witnessed the killing, according to KSBW. Authorities say the mother, Eleni Tavau, 30, suffered multiple stab wounds and was unresponsive when police arrived at the scene.
The suspect, Rodrigo Bravo, 32, turned himself in just a couple of hours after the killing on Sunday.
“When the man walked into the jail lobby, he spoke with a staff member working the front desk,” the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department told KION. “There is conflicting information about what was said in that conversation. There is also conflicting information about his physical appearance and demeanor while in the lobby.”
A Go Fund Me page set up to return Tavau for a proper burial in Samoa says she is survived by “three beautiful children.”
Law & Crime reports Bravo pleaded not guilty to six felony counts including one count of murder in the second degree and two counts of causing bodily harm to children.
He is also accused of violating a court restraining order for domestic violence.
“I don’t understand why. I don’t understand how somebody could do something like that,” said Alex Carr, the younger brother of Tavau said to KSBW. Carr said his sister literally had just told him hours before being killed that she wanted to move her and the kids to Reno to be closer to him.
He said she also talked about being physically, mentally and verbally abused by Bravo.
He is being held on $1 million dollars bail.
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