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Roxbury man faces a judge after allegedly stabbing wife to death

BOSTON — A Roxbury man accused of fatally stabbing his wife of 10 years is being held without bail.

Valdir Chaves, 43, is being charged with murder after police say he stabbed his wife, Dora Chaves, multiple times inside their 32 Clarence Street apartment.

Boston EMS transported the victim to a local hospital after responding to a call at the couple's address at 12:21 p.m. on Sunday.

Chaves was still inside the apartment when police and emergency crews responded. He was taken into custody shortly after.

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Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins called the stabbing a domestic violence incident.

"Today we have a family that is going to be deeply impacted by what happened here, and I really hope we are going to be speaking more about domestic violence and the work we have to do to try and end it," said DA Rollins.

Augusto Pina, the landlord responsible for managing the building the couple lives in, says he's been receiving noise complaints about the couple for the past couple of months.

"That guy – he recently started acting like crazy, music all night sometimes on the porch and screaming bad words," said Pina.

Pina was at church when his wife called him about an argument at the apartment.

"She heard the mom crying, screaming, so she came down," he said. "She called me [...] when I came I saw a lot of cops."

Neighbors say the couple had been married for at least 10 years and have two sons. At least one of the two boys was at home when the stabbings happened.

Chaves was arraigned in Roxbury District Court on Monday and is due back in court in mid-September.

If you're in a dangerous situation, or if you suspect someone else is, the DA's Office says anyone can call their office and ask to speak to a victim-witness advocate. You can also find more information on how to seek out help from a dangerous situation here.

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