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Niece Slashed Aunt to Death With Meat Cleaver Inside Their Home: Officials

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | March 20, 2017 4:07pm
 A South Jamaica woman used a meat cleaver to kill her aunt during a dispute inside their home last week, officials said.
A South Jamaica woman used a meat cleaver to kill her aunt during a dispute inside their home last week, officials said.
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Anton K. Nilsson/DNAinfo

QUEENS — A South Jamaica woman killed her aunt with a meat cleaver during a dispute inside their home last week, authorities said.  

Elizabeth Sanchez, 30, was arrested Saturday and charged with murdering her aunt, Maria Palaguachi, 50, inside their two-story home on 174th Street near 137th Avenue last Thursday, police said.

Palaguachi’s body was found by her daughter shortly after 11 a.m., officials said.

Sanchez, who also goes by Digna Sanchez-Ortiz, repeatedly slashed her aunt in her head, neck and shoulder with the meat cleaver which was later recovered at the scene, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Sanchez, who has no prior arrests, was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Authorities said it wasn't immediately clear what started the incident.

Police had been called to the home for domestic disputes several times in recent years, according to published reports, but the NYPD would not confirm any previous incidents.

If convicted, Sanchez faces up to 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.

Sanchez's attorney did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.