Authorities in a Florida county are working to determine if a body they found in a wooded area on Wednesday, Nov. 16 belongs to a Black city worker allegedly murdered by her husband.
Family members reported Mimose “Mimi” Dulcio, 39, missing on Saturday after not hearing from her for two days.
Dulcio worked for the city of Fort Lauderdale and was off Friday for Veterans Day, but her sister, who’s used to speaking to her several times a day, said she was not answering phone calls or texts as she usually does. So her siblings went to her home to check on her.
When Mimi’s sister Seminta Dulcio went to her home on Friday, she was alarmed at what she saw.
Seminta said her sister’s bedroom door was locked, and she found busted windows, broken TVs with spots of blood and other damaged electronics. Dulico’s credit cards were still in her home.
“Two of her phones, they were broken, bent and shattered. That’s not like her to leave any of her devices because what she’s going through. Her phones go everywhere that she goes,” she told CBS Miami.
Dulcio’s family knew she was going through a tumultuous divorce. Her estranged husband was supposed to pick up his belongings from their Fort Lauderdale home on Thursday, Mimi’s brother Enel Dulcio told WPLG-TV Channel 10.
Seminta said the family questioned Jose Pacheco, 36, about her whereabouts. He opened the door and said Dulcio was not home, but he was not in the house when they went to search it. The couple married on June 27, 2021, the Miami Herald reports.
Broward County Sheriff’s office spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis said detectives found evidence Dulcio was murdered in the home, and her body was transported somewhere else in a “shared vehicle,” a white 2018 Dodge Charger.
Authorities arrested Pache on Monday, about 25 miles away in Hialeah, a city on the outskirts of Miami, Florida. He was arraigned Wednesday for second-degree murder in connection to Dulcio’s death.
Pacheco told investigators that he was upset over the pending divorce and believed Dulcio was cheating, WSVN reports.
“I don’t take these words lightly, I’m gonna call him a monster. A monster,” Seminta told reporters.
The Broward County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a body of a woman was discovered in northwest Miami, and they are working on identifying her.
Fort Lauderdale officials honored Dulcio, who worked in the city’s department of sustainable development, on Tuesday. City manager Greg Chavarria said she would be missed by her coworkers.
“Her colleagues remember Mimose for her bright smile and dedication to her work,” Chavarria said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this difficult time.”
