Screams on 911 call, past domestic violence assault case in stabbing death of Dafne Davila

*Editor’s note: This article includes potentially disturbing content. Reader discretion is advised.

An El Paso-area woman pleaded for help on the phone with a 911 dispatcher while hiding in a room as her ex-boyfriend was breaking down the door before she was stabbed and killed at a home earlier this month.

A criminal complaint document filed by an El Paso County sheriff’s detective describes a horrifying, audio-recorded assault that took the life of Dafne Michelle Davila, 27, allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend, Jorge Albert Chavez.

Chavez, 30, is at the Downtown El Paso County Jail held on a $1 million bond on a murder charge in the killing of Davila on the early morning of Jan. 5 at a house in the Horizon City area of El Paso County. He was arrested that same day while driving on Interstate 20 in the Pecos region in Reeves County, Texas.

A desperate call to 911 for help

At 3:29 a.m. on Jan. 5, sheriff’s deputies were dispatched on a call of an assault in progress after Davila dialed 911 asking for help, saying her boyfriend, whom she identified as Jorge Chavez, had punched her with his fists, the complaint affidavit stated.

Davila told dispatchers that she was hiding in the last room of a house in the 600 block of Zinc Place, the affidavit stated. The woman identified herself as Dafne Davila “and again pleaded for help and said that her boyfriend was starting to break down the door to the room.”

The “victim begins to scream, and a male voice can be heard, and several undistinguishable words can be heard,” the affidavit stated. “Loud thuds can be heard that sound as though an assault is taking place, followed shortly thereafter by what sounds like gasping and labored breathing. There is no further communication between the female caller and the dispatcher.”

Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit obtained a copy of the 911 recording described in the affidavit.

Deputy arrives, suspected killer flees

At 3:34 a.m., the first deputy arrived at the home on Zinc Place and saw a light-gray Chevrolet pickup truck with its lights on in the driveway and a man in the driver’s seat, the affidavit stated. The deputy parked his patrol vehicle behind the truck, approached the driver and ordered him to turn off the truck.

The driver of the truck — believed to be Chavez — put the truck in reverse, accelerated and hit the patrol vehicle, continuing to accelerate until pushing the patrol vehicle out of the way, before hitting a parked vehicle at a neighboring home and speeding away, the affidavit stated.

The deputy then rushed into the house and found Davila on the floor of the kitchen lying in a large pool of blood with a knife in her throat. She was gasping for air and appeared to be conscious, the affidavit stated.

Life ambulance arrived and transported Davila to Del Sol Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:36 a.m., the affidavit stated.

Murder suspect allegedly assaulted girlfriend in the past

Court documents show that Davila’s violent death occurred five months after Chavez was accused of beating her in a previous incident.

Shortly after 2 a.m. on Aug. 11, deputies responded to a domestic assault call in the same Horizon City-area neighborhood, an affidavit filed by a deputy stated.

Davila told deputies that she and Chavez had been drinking at his parent’s house when an argument began between them “over allegations of witchcraft,” the affidavit stated. Davila said she retreated to a restroom to de-escalate the situation.

When Davila walked out of the restroom, Chavez confronted her about supposed damage caused to the walls of the house. She said she had no idea what he was talking about and the argument continued outside the front door, the affidavit stated.

Chavez allegedly punched Davila in the torso, kicked her twice, pulled her hair and tried to close the door on her forearm, hurting her, the document stated. Davila left, called 911 and met deputies at a nearby house.

The deputy noted that Davila had swelling on her left forearm, but she refused to be seen by medical personnel. Davila told deputies that Chavez had taken her car keys and left them in his vehicle. Deputies phoned him, but he did not answer.

On Sept. 17, a warrant was issued for Chavez on a misdemeanor assault-family violence charge. Deputies arrested him on Nov. 11, and he was released from jail on a $1,500 bond that same day. The case is pending in court.

El Paso County murder suspect allegedly admits killing woman

After Chavez allegedly sped away from the fatal stabbing, a multi-agency effort began to track him down and arrest him.

Sheriff’s detectives spoke to a friend of Chavez who told them that Chavez called the friend and allegedly confessed to having just killed Davila and that Chavez wanted to take his own life, the affidavit stated.

Chavez was later taken into custody without incident while traveling on Interstate 20 some 200 miles east of El Paso thanks to coordination between El Paso County sheriff’s investigators, the Texas Rangers, the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Reeves County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit picked up Chavez in Reeves County and transported him to jail in El Paso. A jail booking photo shows Chavez in an orange prisoner jumpsuit, a tattoo stating “Dafne” is visible on his chest.

Domestic violence and sexual abuse victims in need of advice and resources, including emergency shelter, can call the Center Against Sexual and Family Violence’s 24-hour hotline at 915-593-7300.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com and @BorundaDaniel on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Dafne Davila domestic violence: Screams on 911 call, past assault