Chelsea

Man Suspected of Killing Estranged Wife in Chelsea Is Identified

Paula Andrea Ortiz Ramirez was found dead having been stabbed and slashed multiple times, while Mario Alberto Mira Lopera was also found injured in the apartment, prosecutors said

A man who's been in critical condition since stabbing his estranged wife to death at an apartment in Chelsea, Massachusetts, over the weekend will face murder and assault charges if he survives, prosecutors said Monday.

Mario Alberto Mira Lopera, 48, is suspected of killing Paula Andrea Ortiz Ramirez, also 48, in the apartment on Stockton Street Saturday afternoon, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office.

Ortiz was found dead having been stabbed and slashed multiple times, while Mira was also found injured in the apartment and rushed to the hospital for surgery. The pair have children, prosecutors said.

"The evidence indicates that Ms. Ortiz’s life was taken in a violent domestic attack. This is a tragedy as children are now left without a mother and have a father who will be charged with her murder if he survives," District Attorney Rachael Rollins said in a statement.

Officials are investigating the woman's death as a homicide.

Her office said that it would share more information on the murder and assault and battery with a deadly weapon charges that Mira faces if he survives and appears in Chelsea District Court for his arraignment.

Authorities didn't say how they believe Mira was injured. Detectives from the Massachusetts State Police are still investigating the stabbing, officials said.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HELP: Massachusetts provides this list of national, statewide and local resources for victims of domestic violence. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Anyone who is in immediate danger or knows someone who is is urged to call 911.

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