DOVER, Fla. — In less than 24 hours, Hillsborough County deputies located and arrested a "dangerous" man they say stabbed his romantic partner and her little girl to death in an "extremely gruesome scene" at a mobile home in Dover.
Sheriff Chad Chronister provided an update on the homicide investigation Thursday afternoon with new details about the two victims and the arrest of 31-year-old Angel Cuz-Choc.
“This murderer who brutally murdered and committed this heinous, vile and unthinkable crime against these two innocent victims is under arrest," Chronister said.
The sheriff's office said Cuz-Choc came to Hillsborough County from Guatemala about three months ago with 36-year-old Amalia Choc de Pec and her daughter, 4-year-old Estrella Pec Coc.
Chronister said during the news conference that while Cuz-Choc was dating the woman, the little girl was not his biological child. The girl's father is reportedly still in Guatemala.
According to Chronister, law enforcement now knows Cuz-Choc stabbed the two victims. Previous reports from the sheriff's office said the woman and child were beaten to death.
Cuz-Choc allegedly killed the victims Wednesday afternoon at their home on Sumner Road near Berry Pride Lane.
“I am taken back by the level of pure evil that has transpired when our suspect brutally murdered an innocent woman and a young child," the sheriff said in an earlier news conference.
On Thursday morning, the sheriff's office issued an arrest warrant for Cuz-Choc on two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon. Just a few hours later, Chronister said in a post on the social media platform X that Cuz-Choc was apprehended.
Chronister said deputies were called around 5:30 p.m. Wednesday by a roommate who arrived home to find the 4-year-old girl dead inside the mobile home and a woman in the backyard "in her own puddle of blood."
Deputies also found a bloody handprint on the side of the mobile home that they believe came from the woman fighting for her life, the sheriff added.
“He has killed somebody who he was romantically involved with. He has killed his own child," Chronister said previously of the suspect. The sheriff corrected the initial report on Thursday confirming Cuz-Choc was not the father of the 4-year-old.
The sheriff said the murders likely happened around 3:40 p.m. when a neighbor heard a woman's scream. Deputies believe Cuz-Choc then ran off through the strawberry fields behind the home and into a wooded area.
During the investigation, Chronister said detectives discovered Cuz-Choc had reached out to people he knew, asking for help avoiding arrest, but no one agreed.
The sheriff's office used K-9s, helicopters and ample manpower to track down Cuz-Choc. K-9 deputies eventually found him hiding in a wooded area between Interstate 4 and Glen Harwell Road and took him into custody.
Body camera footage shows K-9 deputies navigating through branches and thick brush until a K-9 found Cuz-Choc and latched onto his jacket. The K-9 held onto Cuz-Choc until deputies could put him in handcuffs.
Detectives said Cuz-Choc confessed to both murders in interviews following his arrest. He is charged with two counts of first-degree murder with additional charges pending.
The actions of law enforcement in finding Cuz-Choc speaks to the sheriff's office's commitment to protecting their communities, Nico Toscani, president of We Are The Essentials, said. The non-profit organization consists of former law enforcement officers and military service members who assist in search and recovery missions.
Toscani said despite Cuz-Choc's nearly three-hour head start to flee from officers, their plan to set up the perimeter and use modern technology helped contain him, especially in an area as difficult as the woods.
"We are very thankful that in these surrounding counties, we have sheriffs that are willing to go 100%," Toscani said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story had the suspect's name as Angel Cuzchoc. The sheriff's office also initially reported the age of the woman as 37 years old and the child as 5 years old. All updated information has since been corrected.