Indiantown - Tuesday March 28, 2023: A Guatemalan immigrant has been charged in the stabbing death of his wife in Indiantown. Authorities say the killing took place while the couple’s baby daughter looked on.
It happened late Monday afternoon at a boarding house in Indiantown located at 14844 Southwest Cherokee Drive. Two Road Patrol Deputies responded to a 911 call about a reported "stabbing in progress" shortly after 5 pm.
Martin County Sheriff Chief Deputy John Budensiek says the Deputies made a forced enter into the room and inside they found 39-year old Pedro Mateo-Andres kneeling over his wife, Dominga Gaspar-Francisco. Both were covered in blood. “Immediately after they broke the door open the suspect rolled over stood up and basically said ‘I kill her.’”
The couple’s baby daughter witnessed the stabbing. She was not physically injured said Chief Deputy Budensiek. “The three-year old was in the room the entire time this incident was happening, and after they were able to pull her out of the room and moved her outside of the house to another family member who was on scene already.”
The motive appears to have been jealousy. According to the arrest affidavit, when questioned by the Deputies, Mateo-Andres told the arresting officer "I'm jealous" and "I'm messed out of my head" and "take me to jail, no problem."
“The defendant told us that him and his wife had been having marital problems arguing about him accusing her of infidelity," said Chief Deputy Budensiek. "Yesterday the victim declared to the suspect that she was going to leave him. At that point the suspect said that he got mad and stabbed her multiple times.”
Mateo-Andres has been charged with first degree pre-mediated murder.
“He’s affected three people’s lives. Obviously, she’s deceased, he’ll be in jail for ever. And that poor little girl really is one of the biggest victims in this," said the Chief Deputy.\