A chilling international manhunt is now underway after a Virginia woman was found dead inside a freezer — and police believe her Navy reservist husband may have fled all the way to Hong Kong.
Lina Guerra, 39, was discovered on Feb. 5 inside a freezer in the Norfolk apartment she shared with her husband, David Varela, 28. The grim discovery came days after Guerra’s brother reported her missing. Her family in Colombia had not heard from her since Jan. 16.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Feb. 10 ruled her death a homicide.
The Norfolk Police Department has charged Varela with first-degree murder and concealing a dead body to prevent detection. But by the time charges were filed, he was already gone.
According to investigators, Varela stopped answering repeated calls from his Navy chain of command — behavior superiors described as highly unusual. Homeland Security, NCIS and the FBI now believe he boarded a flight to Hong Kong “on or about Feb. 5, 2026,” the same day Guerra’s body was found.
Court documents reportedly state there is probable cause to believe he fled Virginia to avoid prosecution. Emergency data requests to WhatsApp later showed location pings coming from Hong Kong.
What makes the situation even more alarming: authorities say Varela has no known ties to Hong Kong or China. He does have family in Colombia, but investigators believe he deliberately chose Hong Kong because the extradition treaty between the United States and Hong Kong has been suspended since 2020.
“If you needed to buy yourself some time to where law enforcement was not going to be looking for you, this was a way to do it,” Navy public affairs officer Ed Booth told local media. He noted that while murder is illegal everywhere, the lack of an active extradition agreement complicates things.
Meanwhile, Guerra’s devastated family says they were misled for weeks.
During the time she was missing, relatives say Varela claimed Guerra had been arrested for shoplifting and was sitting in jail. He allegedly sent a photo of the two of them together, claiming it showed him visiting her behind bars while she wore an orange jumpsuit.
Guerra’s sister-in-law, Paola Ramirez, said Varela messaged her saying he “has not stopped crying” and “hasn’t eaten in more than a day” over his wife’s supposed incarceration.
Court records later confirmed Guerra was never charged with shoplifting.
Family members also revealed deeper concerns. Ramirez alleged there had been prior violence in the relationship and claimed Varela was controlling and jealous, not allowing Guerra to work, study, have friends or go out alone.
“I want to emphasize that there had been violence before from David,” Ramirez said. “He had hit her previously, but she didn’t tell us because she didn’t want to worry us. He appeared to be very religious, very calm, normal. That’s why this is so shocking; we never imagined he’d do something like this.”
Varela enlisted in the Navy in 2007 and reportedly served in at least six states, earning multiple awards and decorations.
Now, instead of serving his country, he is at the center of a global search tied to one of the most disturbing cases in recent memory.
Of course it is a homicide.Why would she be in a freezer.Sad though as I think he was so embarrassed by his wife’s supposed stealing, However that is not a reason for murder