NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Court documents in Newport News paint a tragic picture of the type of domestic violence that shatters entire families.
The area near 75th Street and Roanoke Avenue is not somewhere residents are used to seeing crime scenes.
“When I woke up and opened my door here, I saw the police,” said Violette Richardson, who has lived in the neighborhood for several years.
Javier Hernandez Orellana, 47, has cooperated with police, who charged him with second-degree murder in the death of his wife.
According to court documents, Orellana and his wife, 36-year-old Emma Carolina Lopez Navarre, had family members over for food and drinks, but when they left Sunday night, Lopez Navarre snatched her husband’s phone and started arguing with him concerning past infidelity accusations.
As the husband tried to recover his phone, the wife, according to a probable cause statement, grabbed a bottle of alcohol and struck her husband on the top of the head.
The husband, according to the statement, shoved his wife so hard, she fell backward with enough force to punch a hole in drywall. After complaining of a headache, she retreated to a bedroom for rest with her husband and children.
Two hours later, the husband told police his wife was unresponsive and had fallen to the floor. He reportedly tried CPR and then called 911. At 3 a.m., the mother was pronounced dead after medics tried to revive her.
Orellana Hernandez is due in court for a preliminary hearing Nov. 7. He is being held without bond.
There is no word on the status of the children, but court records indicate that the victim is survived by a sister who lives in Hampton Roads.
The Help and Emergency Response, Inc. (HER) 24/7 hotline number for victims of domestic abuse is 757-485-3384.