A Connecticut man is accused of becoming obsessed with his ex-girlfriend and plotting to stab her to death months before allegedly carrying out the deadly attack.
Matthew Almontes, 41, has been charged with murder in the death of 41-year-old Tisha Marinoccio, according to the New Haven Police Department.
He is also facing a charge of tampering with evidence and is being held on $1.5 million bond.
Police said Almontes and Marinoccio lived in the same apartment building on the 300 block of Orange Street in New Haven. The two had previously dated but were no longer together when the deadly incident occurred.
According to a police report, an employee at the building told investigators that Almontes had talked about stabbing Marinoccio for months.
The employee claimed that just days before the killing, Almontes made a chilling threat.
“I’m going to kill her. I’m gonna stab her and they’re not gonna find a weapon,” he allegedly said on Monday.
The worker also told police that Almontes had become obsessed with Marinoccio and appeared to be going through what the employee described as “mental deterioration.”
Two days later, authorities say the threat became reality.
On Wednesday, Marinoccio called police and said she had been stabbed by her ex-boyfriend, identifying Almontes as the attacker. She also reportedly told dispatchers that he had fled her apartment with the weapon.
Officers rushed to the building and found Marinoccio inside her apartment suffering from a stab wound.
Paramedics transported her to a nearby hospital, but she was pronounced dead.
Police immediately began searching the area and located Almontes outside the building, where he was taken into custody.
Investigators later found a knife inside a dumpster in the rear alley of the apartment complex, which police believe was the weapon used in the killing.
Surveillance footage allegedly showed Almontes entering and leaving Marinoccio’s apartment around the time of the attack.
Police said cameras also captured him leaving through the rear of the building and throwing an unknown object into the alley dumpster.
Almontes reportedly declined to speak with investigators following his arrest.
He is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26 as the murder case moves forward.
