A Carbondale man accused of killing his wife by slashing her with a machete in February told investigators that afterward he in an attempt to kill himself, an arrest affidavit shows.
, 46, admitted to the slaying after the crash as he spoke with emergency responders who were flying him by helicopter to medical care in Grand Junction, Carbondale police said.
Navarrete-Portillo also admitted to the slaying in a hospital interview, telling an officer he made a “very grave error” and had done something very bad, the affidavit says.
Navarrete-Portillo in the death of his wife, 30-year-old . The arrest affidavit outlining her alleged killing was made public Wednesday after prosecutors and a Glenwood Springs newspaper pushed for its release.
Navarrete-Portillo told an investigator that he didn’t remember how the fatal attack happened but that he was “crazy at the time” and “not in his right mind,” according to the affidavit. He also said that an argument precipitated the attack but that he didn’t remember what it was about.
According to Navarrete-Portillo, his wife was silent as he attacked her and as she was slashed to death.
“When asked what should happen to him (Navarrete-Portillo) replied that he should be put in jail for what he did,” the affidavit says.
A police officer reported that when he entered the home he found Portillo-Amaya’s body on a bed with “obvious injuries to her lower face and neck area” and blood covering the room and spattered on the walls.
Investigators noted there was hair and blood stuck to the machete when it was found in the room leaning against a wall, the affidavit says.
A forensic pathologist told investigators that Portillo-Amaya had been struck between five and ten times.
The attack happened on Feb. 16. Navarrete-Portillo crashed his Toyota 4Runner on Colorado 133.
The last homicide in Carbondale happened in April 2003, police said.
Navarrete-Portillo’s ex-wife said that he appeared at her door the morning of the slaying with their 6-year-old son, saying he just committed a “big mistake” and was going to turn himself in.
She told investigators that he appeared to be extremely nervous and intoxicated.
After Portillo-Amaya was killed, police interviewed her sister who said Navarrete-Portillo had suspected last August or September that his wife was cheating, the affidavit shows.
The couple separated for two months after the accusations, during which the affidavit says Portillo-Amaya showed her sister texts from Navarrete-Portillo that said, roughly, “I’m going to kill you when I see you” and “After, I’m going to go crash and kill myself.”
Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
