CHANDLER, AZ (CBS5) -
A woman is dead and a suspect is in custody in connection with a stabbing at a Chandler apartment complex Sunday morning.
A witness called police about 11 a.m. saying her friend, 44-year-old Carmela Ginez, had been stabbed in the neck in an apartment at 948 W. Ray Rd., Chandler Police Department detective Seth Tyler said.
When officers arrived, they began lifesaving measures until the fire department arrived shortly after, Tyler said. Paramedics took her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A short time later, Chandler patrol officers arrested Juan Ramone Flores-Castro at a nearby bar. Police said he tried to flee but was quickly caught.
The witness said she was with Ginez at a bar the night before, and then they went to an apartment where Flores-Castro was staying, according to police documents. The witness said she knew Flores-Castro for about six months.
Flores-Castro began drinking with Ginez and the witness after taking his girlfriend home. The witness told police she fell asleep on the couch. She woke up several times and saw Flores-Castro and Ginez lying together on another couch, according to police documents.
According to police, the witness woke up later to the sounds of choking, saw blood on the couch and the victim was holding her neck. The victim stood up, walked a few feet and collapsed on the floor, police said.
The suspect was still sitting on the couch holding a knife and he told the witness in Spanish "that everything was OK" and left, police said.
After the arrest, Flores-Castro told police that Ginez insulted him while they were laying together. He told police that "valor and the effects of alcohol made him do it," according to police documents.
He showed police blood spots on his clothes that he said were from the victim. He also said he left the knife at the apartment, which was later found.
Flores-Castro was booked into jail for second-degree murder. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed an immigration retainer on him shortly after his arrest.
According to ICE, Flores-Castro was deported back to Mexico in January 2008 after he was released from prison for a felony drug trafficking conviction.
Flores-Castro was arrested in 2007 on drug-related and misconduct charges involving a weapon, but the charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to drug violation charges, according to Maricopa County Superior Court Documents.
He was released from prison in 2008, according to prison records.
Flores-Castro had other drug and weapon-related convictions prior to that, according to Arizona Department of Correction records.
Stay with cbs5az.com and CBS 5 News for updates on this developing story.
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Juan Ramone Flores-Castro
