NORFOLK, Va. — The WTKR Digital Team got a tip from a woman around the world saying she possibly met 38-year-old David Varela in Hong Kong and said he asked her out.
The Navy Reservist is currently wanted for first-degree murder and concealment of a body after his wife, Lina Guerra’s body was found stuffed inside the freezer inside their apartment in downtown Norfolk.
Investigative Reporter Margaret Kavanagh called a number on a video call and a man who looks like Varela answered the phone. She said she wanted to speak with David and he said yes.
She identified herself as a reporter and said she was calling about Lina and asked, “Did you have any comment about the accusations regarding Lina?”.
The man covered the lens of the camera with his hand and hung up. Attempts to reach him again were unsuccessful.
Watch as we discuss how this story unfolded on the True Crime 757 podcast
The WTKR digital team got a message last week that read, “Hi, I guess I know where is David Varela.”
WTKR has been in touch with two friends who said they met Varela while on their trip to China.
They said the encounter happened while they were visiting Hong Kong for a day of the trip on March 24.
Through translations, the woman said, “I was in Hong Kong with my friends. We met this man while waiting in line at an attraction. He introduced himself as David and said he was looking for a Russian wife.”
She said they spoke for 20 minutes then kept in touch through text, “He said he was looking for a job in Hong Kong and that he’s been there for a month already….He said he lives in Miami and is a US military man.”
She said he suggested for her to come back to Hong Kong, she did and said she spent the day with him.
She said, “He didn’t look dangerous or aggressive.”
She went home and they continued to communicate. She said, “My friend typed his name in Google and came across your article.”
She said, “What we saw shocked us and we decided to get in touch with you, maybe this will help find him.”
Last Thursday the WTKR Investigative Team ran an updated article on the case and spoke to Lina Guerra’s family in Colombia again.
Watch previous coverage: Lina Guerra's family struggles to get ashes after she was found dead in Norfolk apartment freezer
Guerra was first reported missing then her body was found inside the freezer on February 5th in the ICON apartment in downtown Norfolk that she shared with her husband, Varela.
The medical examiner found that Lina died of blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.
It was Guerra’s family who called police after they got suspicious when they couldn’t reach her in mid-January after Varela apparently told them she was sent to prison for shoplifting even sending this picture of her in an orange jumpsuit.
WTKR researched this claim and did not find any arrest record for Guerra.
Through a translator, the family told us they haven’t been able to get her ashes back, don’t know what happened to her dogs and are frustrated that her husband hasn’t been arrested and confirmed the pictures we got sent from the women who have claimed to met him are that of Varela.
After our update went live on air and online, our digital team is led by Jon Sham got a concerning direct message on Instagram from the women who allegedly encountered Varela.
The WTKR Digital Team is constantly reading what people write us, scrolling comments, and checking messages sent in about the stories we air.
They are constantly working hard to help with our investigations and coverage of news daily. They read comments to try and find clues about the cases we cover.
After receiving the message from the women regarding meeting Varela, WTKR immediately contacted authorities with this information.
Watch previous coverage: The murder of Lina Guerra and her husband, on the run, charged with her killing
WTKR spoke to Norfolk’s Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi about the situation.
“First, thank you to the folks in Hong Kong who've spotted Mr. Varela. This kind of information is really important, and it's information that will be vital to the law enforcement officers trying to bring Mr. Varela to justice. It is always helpful to have more information.”
But he says it can be difficult to bring people back to the United States when dealing with other countries.
“Even when the United States government knows where somebody is, it's still not the end of the line. It requires local action, and this is why international cooperation and good relations between countries makes all the difference,” said Fatehi.
Guerra’s family in Columbia is desperately waiting for justice.
“We are looking forward to the day that Mr. Varela is back on American soil, so that we can try this case,” said Fatehi.
As a family is left mourning they want answers, need help getting Guerra’s ashes and wonder about her possessions and her beloved dogs but the biggest question is why did someone kill this beautiful woman in such a brutal way.
