A US Army soldier has been arrested on suspicion of killing his estranged wife in Hawaii weeks after her body was found in a trash can at the barracks.
Army Spc. Raul Hernandez Perez, 25, from Naples, Fla., was charged Thursday with the murder of his 25-year-old wife, Selena Roth, the Hawaii Star Advertiser reported.
Roth, an Army veteran, was found dead Jan. 13 at the Schofield Barracks.
Her body was discovered in a trash can by military police after her family requested a welfare check, sources told Hawaii News Now at the time.
“Our brigade and the Army community are heartbroken by Selena’s death,” Col. Theodore Travis said in a statement. “We have extended our condolences to Selena’s family, friends and loved ones.”
No further details have been released about the circumstances surrounding Roth’s death, but court records document the couple’s deteriorating relationship.
Roth and Hernandez Perez filed for divorce back in October.
The following month, Hernandez Perez sought a protection order against Roth after claiming that she “threw” a computer tower and other electronic devices and let the air out of his car tires, the Star Advertiser reported.
Roth’s sister, Aubrey Rangel, wrote on a GoFundMe page that she is survived by a “beautiful young daughter who will never get the chance to know her mother.”
“She is leaving behind a father and a mother who adored her. No parent should have to bury their child,” the notice read. “Selena is leaving behind many siblings [and] we are all grieving for the loss of our baby sister.”