Dejan Belnavis, suspect in slaying of mother and daughter, waives extradition in Calif.
Dejan Belnavis, jailed in California, is expected to return to Massachusetts soon to face charges in connection with the shooting deaths of a mother and daughter in Worcester.
Belnavis appeared in a San Diego courtroom Friday and signed a waiver of extradition, clearing the way for him to return to Massachusetts, according to the Worcester District Attorney's Office.
Belnavis, 27, has been held in California since being apprehended Monday afternoon in the San Diego area. He had been on the run since the killing in Worcester of Chasity Nuñez, 27, and her daughter Zella, 11. The two were sitting in an SUV on Englewood Avenue on the afternoon of March 5 when two gunmen fired into the vehicle.
Belnavis and a second Worcester man, Karel Mangual, were soon identified by police as suspects. Mangual was arrested a day after the shooting.
Both face murder charges.
The district attorney's office did not give an initial Massachusetts court date for Belnavis.
Belnavis, with a most recent address of Toronita Avenue, has a long criminal record, mostly for drugs and domestic violence. Like Mangual, he has been associated with gangs, court records show.
Authorities have not publicly revealed a motive for the killings.
On Thursday, hundreds turned out for calling hours to pay respects to the family of Chasity and Zella Nuñez.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Dejan Belnavis, suspect in Worcester killings, set to return to Mass.
