Charly Haley

chaley@dmreg.com

A Perry woman and her teenage daughter who were murdered in their home last month died from blows from a machete, according to newly released court documents.

Carlos Marlo Hernandez-Ventura was arrested in Morrison, Ill., in connection with the Oct. 29 murders. He was transported to Iowa on Thursday and booked into the Dallas County Jail on a $3 million cash-only bond.

Hernandez-Ventura, 25, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder. He is accused of killing his girlfriend Lourdes Flor De Leake, 34, and her daughter, Melany Elizabeth Barraza, 14, and attacking 78-year-old Juan Jimenez Tejeda inside the home at 802 Sixth St. in Perry. All three victims and the suspect lived in the home.

Criminal complaints filed in court against Hernandez-Ventura say he struck all three victims multiple times with a machete. Each victim suffered numerous lacerations, causing blood loss. Hernandez-Ventura has admitted in interviews with law enforcement that he perpetrated the attacks, the criminal complaints allege.

Hernandez-Ventura was arrested Oct. 30 in Morrison, Ill., after knocking on the back door of the town's police station at about 2:30 a.m. to ask for help with a hand injury, according to Morrison Police Chief Brian Melton.

Perry murder suspect knocked on police station door looking for help

Morrison police did not know about the Perry homicides, but after questioning Hernandez-Ventura, officers discovered he was from Iowa and contacted Iowa law enforcement. Police eventually connected Hernandez-Ventura to the murders of Leake and Barraza, Melton said.

Police have not commented on Hernandez-Ventura's background, but he does not appear to have a prior criminal history in Iowa. Morrison police identified him through a Salvadorian passport he had with him, Melton said.

Juan Meraz, 34, told the Register that Hernandez-Ventura moved to Perry less than a month before the murders after meeting Leake while she was visiting the East Coast. Meraz said he knew Leake and her daughter through her ex-husband, but he'd never met Hernandez-Ventura.

A GoFundMe page has been established for Jimenez Tejeda's medical expenses.

Hernandez-Ventura has been scheduled to appear in court Nov. 10.

Perry residents reflect on deaths of mom, teen daughter