A Navy reservist is now the target of an international search after authorities found the body of his missing wife, 39-year-old Lina M. Guerra Echavarria, stored in a kitchen freezer inside their Norfolk, Virginia, apartment. David Varela, 38, has been charged with first-degree murder and hiding a corpse, and investigators suspect he escaped to Hong Kong soon after Guerra’s brother reported her disappearance.
Officers with the Norfolk Police Department discovered Guerra’s remains on Feb. 5 while carrying out a search warrant at an apartment in the 300 block of East Main Street within the ICON building. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner later determined her death to be a homicide. Guerra’s relatives in Colombia had not heard from her since Jan. 16, which led her brother in Miami to reach out to police on Feb. 2 after more than two weeks with no contact.
Throughout that period, Varela constructed an intricate lie. He claimed to Guerra’s family in Colombia that she had been arrested for shoplifting and given a five-year prison sentence. He even sent a picture he said showed him visiting her in jail, with her wearing what looked like an orange prison uniform. In messages shared with investigators, Varela told Guerra’s sister-in-law, Paola Ramirez, that he “has not stopped crying” and “hasn’t eaten in more than a day” due to her supposed arrest.
Court filings confirmed Guerra had never been charged with or convicted of any shoplifting offense.
The Norfolk Police Department is working with the FBI, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and Interpol to locate Varela, an enlisted Navy reservist currently serving on active duty as an electrician. Emergency data requests to WhatsApp provided location information placing him in Hong Kong around Feb. 5, the same day Guerra’s body was found and one day after she was officially reported missing.
Varela joined the Navy in 2007 and accumulated more than ten years of service, with a five-year hiatus between 2012 and 2017. He first served on the USS San Francisco in 2008 and reentered the Navy Reserves in Miami in 2017. He failed to respond to repeated communications from his chain of command, behavior his supervisors described as very uncharacteristic. In addition to state charges, Varela is also facing federal charges for fleeing to avoid prosecution.
The U.S. Navy released a statement confirming its assistance: “The Navy is aware of the ongoing investigation led by Norfolk Police Department involving the death of a Navy spouse in the Norfolk area and is in full cooperation with local, state, and federal law enforcement.”
Investigators pointed out that although Varela has relatives in Colombia, he has no known links to Hong Kong or China. They believe his travel choice was calculated—the United States halted its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in July 2020 through an executive order signed by President Trump, a response to Beijing’s national security law that critics said undermined the city’s autonomy. With the treaty suspended, bringing Varela back to face charges becomes much more difficult.
According to Guerra’s family, Varela exhibited controlling and abusive behavior throughout their relationship. The couple met about 11 years ago in Miami, where she worked as a waitress and he worked as a cook. They married soon afterward. Ramirez said Varela was jealous and prevented Guerra from working, socializing, studying, or going out on her own. They moved to Virginia roughly two years ago because of his military posting.
“I want to emphasize that there had been violence before from David,” Ramirez told WTKR through a translator. “He had hit her previously, but she didn’t tell us because she didn’t want to worry us.”
Guerra’s cousin, Pilar Angel Echevarria, spoke to reporters from Colombia about the immense loss. She said Guerra came from a small family and that their relationship was more like sisters than cousins. They communicated multiple times each day until the sudden silence on Jan. 16.
The physical distance between Colombia and Virginia has deepened the family’s grief as they try to understand what occurred. Echevarria said Guerra had expressed a desire to be cremated like her mother, and she hopes to travel to the U.S. to retrieve her cousin’s ashes after the case is resolved. Guerra’s aunt, Elizabeth Echavarria, voiced the family’s heartbreak: “It’s awful he took my little girl away.”
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi is seeking extradition via Interpol by obtaining a Red Notice—a mechanism used when countries lack an extradition agreement. He said he remains cautiously hopeful about the global search. The suspended extradition treaty with Hong Kong complicates the situation, but authorities say they have solid leads on Varela’s location.
Authorities are appealing to the public for any information regarding Varela’s whereabouts and ask that tips be directed to the Norfolk Police Department, the FBI, or local law enforcement.
