Queer Teen Accused of Stabbing Boyfriend to Death
A Virginia teenager has been charged with murder and grand theft for his involvement in killing a gay hairstylist with whom he was in a sexual relationship.
On September 30, 19-year-old Mario Hernandez-Navarrate stabbed Carroll Davis, 62, inside Davis's Leesburg home, according to police records. After, Hernandez-Navarrate allegedly took off with the victim's car before being apprehended the next day after crashing the vehicle.
Davis's niece, Lisa Ellis, told Washington, D.C.'s NBC affiliate, WRC, that the two had been together for a short period.
"It wasn't like they were in a long-term relationship," she said. "We met him, I think, only one time."
In a criminal complaint, Detective Sean P. McCormack stated that Davis died from multiple stab wounds to his chest and neck. According to the Loudoun Times, Davis's sliding glass door handle had a bloody fingerprint matching Hernandez-Navarrate's arrest record.
When Davis failed to show up to work, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office was called and asked to conduct a welfare check. When they arrived, deputies found Davis' body and a bloody knife on the counter of his Leesburg home on Evergreen Mills Road, according to the Sheriff's Office, D.C's Fox affiliate, WTTG, reports.
Hernandez-Navarrate was found with dried blood under his fingernails and on his feet on the day Davis's body was discovered, according to court documents.
The Times reports that Hernandez-Navarrate admitted to being alone with Davis at Davis's home on September 30 and driving Davis' Mercedes when the car crashed, according to McCormack. McCormack said Hernandez-Navarrate also carried Davis' identification and sustained an injury to his right hand.
After being arrested for armed robbery in July, Hernandez-Navarrate was released on personal recognizance. However, he is now being held without bond.
Hernandez-Navarrate made an appearance before a judge in the Loudoun County General District Court on Tuesday. The judge scheduled a preliminary hearing on January 11 of next year.
As a cosmetologist for over 40 years, Davis owned Jr.'s Perfect Image in Herndon and died while working in a rented space at another salon, according to the Loudoun Times. His family and friends called him "Big Jr."
Five years ago, Davis moved into a tiny house that he had spent about a year building, the outlet reports. His friends and relatives described him as a colorful and loyal friend who enjoyed dancing and writing.
