A Davie man was arrested Sunday for attempting to murder his teenaged ex-girlfriend and her polio-stricken father.
20-year-old Felix Pena and his 16-year-old girlfriend dated for five months before she broke up with him on May 12 for being verbally abusive to her, according to Davie police. During the break-up, he allegedly slapped the girl so hard her glasses fell off, then pushed her to the ground a short time later, sat on her, and choked her.
A week later on May 19, police say Pena went to Publix and bought two large knives and duct tape. He drove to the girl's home in Davie, armed also with a screwdriver, and sat in his car for 9 hours while surveilling and researching on his cell phone how to break into a house.
“Felix’s intent was to use the screwdriver to enter the victim’s residence, the knife was for protection, and the duct tape was to keep [her father] and [her sister] quiet,” according to the affidavit.
After throwing a cinder block through the sliding glass door, Pena reportedly walked into the bedroom of his ex-girlfriend’s father, John Nicholson, and stabbed him in the shoulder. When the girl heard her father's screams she ran into the bedroom, where Pena grabbed her.
“Felix was standing over both [the girl] and John holding the knife and telling them that he was going to kill them both. Felix stated, ‘If I can’t have [her], no one can,’” according to the affidavit.
The girl then convinced Pena they could work things out, and police say she walked him to the front door and kissed him on the cheek while her father called 911.
Pena is charged with premeditated murder, felony battery by strangulation, burglary with a dangerous weapon, and false imprisonment, according to Broward jail records. He is being held without bond.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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