Who was Stella Gomez-Mullet? Wife killed and buried in backyard by Florida man who challenges cops to find body
BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA: A 66-year-old Florida man was arrested early Saturday, March 6, after his newlywed wife's remains were found in the backyard of his Boynton Beach home, police said. The discovery came after the man challenged police to "find the body".
Roberto Colon was booked into the main Palm Beach County jail on a charge of first-degree murder. The victim, Colon's wife, Mary Stella Gomez-Mullet, was reported missing on February 20, 2021, when one of her friends contacted the police department and said that she’d last spoken to her over the phone two days ago. The friend later revealed she had overheard Gomez-Mullet screaming, “No, no, no Roberto!” and calling out her friend’s name before the call disconnected. When she tried calling back, the call went straight to voicemail.
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On the same day, when Mullet's friend filed a report, police received a tip that a bloody handbag was located less than a mile from Colon’s home. Family members later confirmed the items, which included a crucifix strung on a white rosary chain that belonged to Mullet.
According to the police report, “all family members and friends were adamant that something must have happened to Gomez.” Colon claimed he left the house to go to a doctor’s appointment, and when he returned, Mullet was gone.
On February 24, 2021, when the detectives arrived at their house for a follow-up interview, they found that most of his text messaged and call history has been deleted. They also saw a red marking on the front door of their house which looked like blood that was splattered on the floor, walls, window, and even on the ceiling of his workshop. When questioned about the bloodstains, Colon emphasized that it must have come from his dog; it was later confirmed to be human.
After two days, when investigators came to search his apartment, Colon was combative, challenging them to “find the body, find the body”. According to the police report, he described his workshop as an “abattoir” or a place where animals are slaughtered, and his wife as a “piece of shit bitch”. As the investigators were leaving, he smirked and told them, “At least you didn’t find a body at my house.”
But on March 5, 2021, detectives arrested Colon, not for the murder of his wife, but for possession of marijuana found in his apartment during the previous search. Two days earlier, a source told police that she heard Colon and Gomez-Mullet arguing weeks before and that Colon threatened to kill her and bury her in his backyard. When detectives came to check the apartment again on March 5, 2021, they found human remains in the backyard, which was of Mullet. Colon was taken to the Boynton Beach Police Department.
Mullet, 45, and Colon, 66, got married in January 2021, at the Delray Beach courthouse. Colon said that his marriage was sort of quid pro quo arrangement, in which Gomez-Mullet received US citizenship in exchange for taking care of Colon’s mother who has dementia. However, the arrangement had started to crumble very soon. Colon blamed Mullet for defrauding his mother out of several thousands of dollars and told police they were fighting about it when she came to his house on February 18, 2021. Mullet's friend later told police that Mullet went to Colon’s house to drop off the things he claimed she stole and cut contact with him.