MIAMI, Fla. – Miami-Dade’s State Attorney said Friday it’s taken almost 22 years to bring a man accused in the 2000 killing of his ex-girlfriend in a Miami bar to be returned to Florida.
Walter Saul Perez was indicted by a Miami-Dade grand jury on Nov. 28, 2018, on one count of first-degree murder, one count of attempted felony murder with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated battery.
He is accused of killing the victim by stabbing her 26 times.
It was Dec. 4, 2000, when prosecutors said the victim and her boyfriend were sitting at the bar inside the El Salvador Bar located at 1771 NW 7th St., talking with a bar employee.
At approximately 12:30 a.m., Perez, who was the former boyfriend of the victim, entered the bar.
Once inside, Perez allegedly stated in Spanish to the victim “this is the way I wanted to catch you” and began arguing with the victim. During the argument, Perez allegedly pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim in the arm and the stomach. The victim’s boyfriend attempted to intervene and was allegedly stabbed in the chest.
The bar employee attempted to call the police, but Perez told her not to move. Instead, she ran and hid in the bathroom. The victim’s boyfriend ran to get help and saw Perez chase the victim behind the bar and allegedly stab her multiple times. Perez then fled the bar on foot.
Perez was arrested in Guatemala last year.
“. . . Walter Saul Perez is now in state custody. For the victim’s family, this long wait has only added to their suffering,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.