Montgomery County police have arrested and charged a Wheaton couple in connection with the stabbing death of a New Carrollton man, saying the couple devised the murder over a dispute of child visitation rights, said police spokeswoman Lucille Baur.
Nineteen-year-old Moises E. Rodriguez and his wife, 22-year-old Maria Blanco, both of the 12200 block of Justin Road in Wheaton, were arrested Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
Police say Rodriguez and Blanco devised a scheme to lure Samuel Dejesus Chacon, 34, of the 8300 block of Verona Drive, to their Wheaton home and kill him over a discrepancy in child visitation rights.
Chacon was found dead early Wednesday morning in the middle of the road in the 2500 block of Newton Street, not far from the couple's home, Baur said.
Blanco has a six-year-old child with Chacon, and over the years Chacon tightened his grip on when Blanco could see her child, Baur said.
"He had some kind of leverage as to when she was able to see their child," Baur said. Baur said it's unclear who had primary custody of the child.
As a result of the dispute, Rodriguez and Blanco devised a plan to lure Chacon to their Wheaton home and stab him to death, Baur said.
Rodriguez was arrested late Wednesday afternoon and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Baur said. His wife was arrested shortly afterward and charged Thursday. They are both being held at the Montgomery County Police Detention Center without bond.
Police said a female driver found Chacon's body two minutes after midnight Wednesday. Police suspected foul play because the death did not appear to be of natural causes and there was no sign of a traffic collision, Baur said.
Online court records do not indicate Rodriguez or Blanco have a defense attorney.