Relatives plead for return of missing 7-year-old

Rosa Ramirez, Rocky Mountain News

Published June 20, 2007 at midnight

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Relatives of a woman found dead in her Montbello home pleaded today for her husband to return the couple's 7-year-old daughter.

Hilario Martinez-Fabela, 34, is wanted on a murder warrant in the death of Araseli Chavez-Vasquez. Police say he fled with their daughter, Breanna Martinez-Chavez, and was believed to be headed for Mexico.

"We're all asking you to please return the girl to us. We just want the girl to turn up well," said the dead woman's cousin, Margarita Munoz, from the porch of her Denver home.

"I don't believe he would harm her. We just want her back, and we want him to turn himself over to authorities. They're going to catch up to him sooner or later."

Munoz, 33, said Chavez-Vasquez's mother and grandmother have been praying that Breanna comes home "as soon as possible."

A friend of the slain woman said Chavez-Vasquez had been separated from her husband for about four months and was looking forward to setting up a cowboy clothing store.

"She was a fighter. She'd find a way to earn money in every manner she could," Servando Rodriguez, a friend of the slain woman, said Tuesday night.

Chavez-Vasquez, 32, was found dead Sunday in her home in the 5500 block of Hannibal Street after an anonymous caller asked police to check on her.

A neighbor, who would not give her name, said she heard fighting in the home on Friday.

Court records show that Martinez-Fabela was convicted of third-degree assault for a 1999 incident and was ordered to enroll in domestic violence counseling.

He has an active arrest warrant on a charge of assault and disturbing the peace in a February domestic violence incident, according to court documents.

Rodriguez, 32, of Denver, said he and his wife met Chavez-Vasquez in February through a mutual friend. Chavez-Vasquez had joined a business venture selling products and services over the Internet. Rodriguez and his wife were helping her learn the business, he said.

Rodriguez said they often saw her and spoke with her during training conferences and seminars, including a recent one in Phoenix.

On the 13-hour drive to the conference about a week ago, Rodriguez said, she told him she'd been beaten.

"She said that she'd put him in jail and that he had a warrant for his arrest," Rodriguez said.

On one occasion, Rodriguez and his wife visited Chavez-Vasquez in her home.

He saw through her sunglasses that she had a purple eye. She had tattooed her eyebrows, so he thought it might have been the tattoos.

"She never took off her sunglasses inside her house...," Rodriguez said.

He said he later learned from her that the couple had fought.

Rodriguez said neither he nor his wife ever spoke to her about seeking help for domestic violence, partly because she "was a strong person."

"She was a very happy and outgoing person," he said. "She was a person that saw life in a positive way. Araseli worked hard so she could secure a future for her daughter."

Rodriguez said Chavez-Vasquez recently spoke about opening a clothing store in Denver with cowboy boots, hats, designer belts and jewelry for men and women.

"She was very independent. She knew she would one day succeed in her business," Rodriguez said.

Police have not released a motive in the slaying and did not issue an Amber Alert for the missing child.

Munoz said Chavez-Vasquez's body will be buried in El Tepetate, Loreto, Zacatecas in Mexico. She had dual citizenship, according to relatives.

Fernando Lozano, press attache for the Mexican Consulate in Denver, said U.S. authorities have not asked his office to help with the investigation. Lozano said they have not verified that the suspect is a Mexican national.

A viewing for Chavez-Vasquez is scheduled for 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday at Funeraria Latina in Denver. Church services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Annunciation Catholic Church, 3621 Humboldt St. in Denver.

The family has established a fund to help with funeral costs. Donations can be made to U.S. Bank c/o Araseli Chavez.

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