Pa. man allegedly fatally stabbed girlfriend because he didn’t like her haircut

EAST HEMPFIELD, Pa. (TCN) — A 49-year-old man was taken into custody for allegedly killing his girlfriend and injuring her brother because he did not like her haircut.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, at approximately 1:40 p.m., East Hempfield Township Police Department officers responded to a home on Dell Lane regarding a stabbing. Medics transported two people, one of whom was the suspect, to Lancaster General Hospital for laceration wounds. A third victim died at the scene.

Lancaster Online reports police located the suspect, Benjamin Garcia Gual, in his vehicle with a kitchen knife. His girlfriend, Carmen Martinez-Silva, was found dead in a yard. Her brother was reportedly the third victim and sustained stab wounds to the base of skull. Officials believe he will survive.

According to WHP-TV, Martinez-Silva’s daughter told police that Martinez-Silva slept over at her house on the night of Nov. 2 because she was “scared” of Garcia Gual. The daughter cut Martinez-Silva’s hair, and it allegedly upset Garcia-Gual so much that he threatened to stab her. Martinez-Silva reportedly left her daughter’s house and went over to her brother’s on Dell Lane.

Martinez-Silva reportedly asked someone to inform Garcia Gual that she wanted to end their relationship, but he was not home when that witness went by. Garcia Gual reportedly showed up at the brother’s house looking for his girlfriend, but the person who answered the door claimed she wasn’t there. He left and came back a few minutes later. Martinez-Silva’s brother answered, and Garcia Gual allegedly stabbed him.

WHP reports Martinez-Silva started defending her brother, which led Garcia Gual to stab her repeatedly.

Court records show Garcia Gual was arrested on charges of criminal homicide, attempted criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault, and three counts of recklessly endangering another person.

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