A Bronx pastor was charged on Tuesday, October 22, for running over his estranged wife with a car and brutally stabbing her with a machete in front of her two grandchildren, announced Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.
The defendant, Victor Mateo, 63, of 4 Eastman Place, Yonkers, a pastor at the Christian Congregation, The Redeemer Church in the Bronx, was charged with murder, manslaughter, acting in a manner to hurt a child and illegal weapons possession.
Mateo is accused of allegedly killing his wife, Noelia Mateo, 58, outside of her Ellsworth Avenue home in Throgs Neck at around 6:45 a.m. on Thursday, Oct 3., according to Clark.
On that fateful day, Mateo parked his vehicle near the home and when Noelia came out to drive her grandchildren to school, Mateo allegedly struck her with his car. The pastor then got into Noelia’s car, while she was hiding beneath it, and repeatedly ran her over, Clark said.
Afterwards, Mateo allegedly hacked Noelia to death with a machete, while her 11-year-old grandson and 9-year-old granddaughter witnessed the attack.
Leaving Noelia’s defenseless body on the street, Mateo fled the scene in her car, Clark said. By the time an ambulance had arrived at the crime scene, Noelia was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Jacobi Hospital later that morning.
Meanwhile, Noelia’s car was found later that day on Logan Avenue. The NYPD had issued a $2,500 reward for information on Mateo.
He was found and arrested on Thursday, October 10, in Hazelton, PA., and extradited to the Bronx on Tuesday, October 22.
“The defendant cruelly attacked his wife, from whom he had been estranged for approximately a month, in front of her two young grandchildren,” Clark said. “We will pursue justice for the victim, as well as her family members who have been deeply traumatized by the terrible attack.”
Mateo was remanded and is due to appear in court on January 22, 2020.
