OCEAN CITY — In a bizarre case with international intrigue, a Brazilian woman was charged last week with first-degree assault and other counts after allegedly threatening her estranged boyfriend with a knife at an Ocean City residence because she believed he had been involved in an attempt to assassinate a Chilean ambassador.
Around 10 p.m. last Wednesday, Ocean City Police Department (OCPD) officers were dispatched to a residence on 143rd Street for a reported assault with a knife. Upon arrival, OCPD officers observed Marlene Bonhomme-Rivas, 54, of Prima, Brazil, kneeling near an air conditioning unit outside the residence.
Officers observed as Bonhomme-Rivas stood up and went back inside the unit. As officers approached the unit, Bonhomme-Rivas came back out to speak with the OCPD officers, but could not speak English and another officer who spoke Spanish was contacted.
In the meantime, OCPD officers met with the alleged male victim inside the unit. The victim told police he and Bonhomme-Rivas were in a long-distance relationship and last week marked the first time they had seen each other in two years.
According to police reports, the victim told officers the couple started to argue and the argument escalated because Bonhomme-Rivas believed he was seeing another woman. The victim told police at one point, Bonhomme-Rivas picked up a knife and cornered him in the kitchen.
According to police reports, the victim told officers Bonhomme-Rivas eventually calmed down and put down the knife. The victim told police Bonhomme-Rivas briefly left the apartment but returned a short time later and the argument resumed. After a brief scuffle, during which Bonhomme-Rivas allegedly grabbed the victim by the collar, the suspect again grabbed a knife and went outside, which is when the victim called the police.
According to police reports, Bonhomme-Rivas told the officer the first argument began when the victim admitted to her he had assisted in the assassination of a Chilean ambassador outside of the Chilean embassy in Washington, D.C. back in 1995. Bonhomme-Rivas told police the male victim was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the ambassador and he was also involved in trafficking of cocaine and marijuana.
Bonhomme-Rivas said that information made her feel unsafe around the male victim, which is why they began to argue the first time. She said the first argument never turned into a physical altercation and Sanchez left the unit. However, Bonhomme-Rivas told police when the victim returned a short time later, the argument resumed.
Bonhomme-Rivas admitted grabbing a knife during the second argument, but told police she never threatened the victim with it. Instead, Bonhomme-Rivas told police she took the knife outside to the victim’s vehicle where she attempted to stab the vehicle’s tires five times. When it turned out she was not strong enough to stab the tires, she let the air out of the tires with the valve. She told police she hid the knife in the bushes nearby and went back inside. Based on the evidence and testimony, Bonhomme-Rivas was charged with first- and second-degree assault, carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure and malicious destruction of property. After a bail review hearing, she was ordered to be held without bond.
