MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – A 31-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the killing of a woman who was found dead over the weekend in Miami Beach, authorities announced Tuesday.
Edwin Chow faces a second-degree murder charge.
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Police said the victim’s identity has not been officially confirmed, however, based on the suspect’s statements, detectives believe the victim was Chow’s mother, Candida R. Navarrete.
According to Miami Beach police spokesman Ernesto Rodriguez, officers responded to an apartment unit at 659 Meridian Ave. shortly after 12:30 p.m. Saturday after receiving a 911 call from someone who discovered the body.
He said the body was in the advanced stages of decomposition.
Kim Bonanno is the building manager who, along with an exterminator, discovered the victim’s body.
“When I opened the door, the first thing we noticed was the awful smell,” Bonanno said. “So he went in and he saw a body completely covered with a sheet.”
The Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy and ruled the death a homicide, stating that she died from “penetrating injuries to the neck,” an arrest report stated.
Neighbors told Local 10 News reporter Layron Livingston that Navarrete was in her 60s and lived with her son.
“She was really nice, hardworking,” Bonanno said. “Just worked and took care of him.”
According to Chow’s arrest report, a blooding fingerprint was discovered on a disinfectant wipe container that was near the victim’s body. Detectives say the fingerprint belonged to Chow.
According to the report, Chow confessed to the killing, saying he used a kitchen knife to stab his mother as she laid in bed.
A motive for the killing remains unclear.