HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Police officers described a recent fatal domestic violence incident in Hallandale Beach as “horrific.” Relatives identified the victim as Delfina “Lily” Perez, a mother of two who was approximately 20 weeks pregnant. He was 41 years old.

Perez dropped off her two children, ages 8 and 9, at a daycare in Hallandale Beach, where she was known to be punctual. Police said officers responded to the day care around 9pm on Tuesday after he did not come to pick them up.

According to Hallandale Beach Police Department spokeswoman Grace Mariot, a relative picked up the children from day care and later reported that cars belonging to Perez and the children’s father, Victor Chavez, were parked outside the home. someone opened the door.

“Family members provided officers with information about their parents’ history of domestic disputes, concerns for the father’s mental health, and prior threats,” Mariot wrote.

When Hallandale Beach police officers rushed to the home, they found Chavez, 38, “lethargic and unresponsive” in the bedroom and Perez in the bathroom after suffering “serious injuries,” Hallandale Beach police said.

Police said attempts were made to revive Perez, but fire personnel pronounced him dead and took Chavez, also known as Victor Ricardo Chavez Sanchez, to the hospital.

Police said Chavez confessed to the murder and attempted suicide, and officers arrested him on Saturday. State records show Broward Sheriff’s Office corrections officers booked him into the main jail in Fort Lauderdale.

Chavez appeared in Broward County bond court Sunday and faces two counts of second-degree murder. He needed a Spanish-English interpreter, and the judge ordered him to undergo a mental health screening.

“The children are safe and are currently in the custody of relatives as Child Protective Investigative Services (CPIS) conducted an investigation,” Mariot wrote. “Also, family is a GoFundMe account supporting children. This remains an active investigation.

Perez’s younger sister, Cosme Abel De Leon Mazariegos, wrote on the GoFundMe in English and Spanish that her parents wanted Perez’s remains in their hometown of Guatemala and that the two grieving children would need support.

“I now have to raise her two beautiful children along with mine,” De Leon wrote. “Their lives will not be easy. “They are the real victims of this tragedy.”

Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.