COLUMBIA, MD – A quiet Howard County neighborhood was shaken after police said a 24-year-old man strangled his girlfriend inside a shared home, while a neighbor sat unaware just feet away on the other side of a wall. The victim, identified as 35-year-old Esmeralda Perez-Mendez, was found dead in a bedroom Sunday morning on Watchlight Court, according to the Howard County Police Department.

Officers say Darwin Carcamo-Santiago is charged with first- and second-degree murder in her death. Police believe the killing occurred overnight from Saturday into Sunday, and that Carcamo-Santiago fled the area before the body was discovered.

Neighbor recounts night of killing

An acquaintance of the suspect discovered Perez-Mendez in the bedroom and alerted authorities. “The victim suffered injuries consistent with strangulation,” police said, adding detectives believe she was killed sometime during the night.

Next door, longtime resident Elizabeth Chestnut said she had no indication anything was wrong. “They all came home Saturday night and went to work Sunday morning like nothing happened,” Chestnut told WJZ. “So that’s a little disturbing that something happened with all those people living in close quarters and nobody heard anything.”
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Chestnut, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than five decades, said she had spoken with Carcamo-Santiago just hours earlier. “He was very polite and very respectful,” she said.

Arrest made in Texas as residents move out

Police said Carcamo-Santiago was not at the home when officers arrived, prompting a search that ended Monday with his arrest in Texas. Investigators did not detail how he traveled or where he was located.

Chestnut said the realization of what happened next door has been difficult to process. “Sent chills up my spine that I’m downstairs watching TV and on the other side of the wall somebody’s getting killed,” she told WMAR.

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According to neighbors, four or five men had been renting the home, all working at a restaurant owned by the landlord. Those residents moved out the same day Carcamo-Santiago was taken into custody.

Howard County police have not released additional details about a possible motive or the relationship timeline between the suspect and the victim.

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