May 30, 2024 —
Around 4:40 am, someone broke into my bedroom through the window, grabbed my cat, and ran out the door and down the exterior stairs. The event happened shortly after I left for work. My downstairs housemate heard the entire event unfold and was able to confirm as a witness to the police.
*Earlier, May 8 —
Mario showed up unannounced at my work and school. He was living out of state at the time and guilted me into spending time with him because it was his birthday. He threatened to kill himself if I didn’t let him in my home. In retrospect I believe he was studying my room to plan the break in. I excused myself to take a shower and when I came back, he was holding my very scared looking cat and sobbing.*
I didn’t get home on May 30th until around 9:30 pm. My belongings were tossed around and a potted plant was broken, but the only thing missing was Eva. None of my valuables had been touched. My gut instinct was that a housemate during the day recognized Mario from weeks prior and let him in.
I called his phone immediately but it went directly to voicemail. I called my sister-in-law in a panic and gave her his phone number— her call went through but he didn’t answer. I texted him “Did you steal my cat?” Around 1 am he passive-aggressively FaceTimed me to “prove” that he was in his room in Los Angeles. He claimed Eva probably just “got the zoomies” and opened the door. Eva is not physically able to open a door.
Despite the fact that he could conceivably fly from Seattle to Los Angeles during the 13+ hours I would be out for work and school (a schedule he was aware of and could plan around), I believed his FaceTime alibi at the time.
May 31 —
I didn’t see the handprints on the window until the next morning. My room was on the second floor of the house— too high for someone to get to without a ladder. My belief is that Mario enlisted a close friend of his who was agile enough to climb through the window while he kept watch, cleaned the scene of the now-missing window screen and possible ladder, and readied a getaway vehicle to leave before anyone noticed.
This belief is based on physical evidence, my housemate’s witness account, Mario’s apparent ability to easily travel from Los Angeles to Seattle and vice versa, the suspicious activity when he had shown up prior, and various incriminating things he has said (which conveniently none of was in text or recorded format).
(It is also important to note that Mario sent me a “care package” in July and kept trying to extend an unusual amount of emotional support, given that during our relationship years prior he was very dismissive. The package contained photos of Eva, handmade soaps in the shape of cats, a lengthy handwritten note detailing how “devastated” he was that Eva was missing and how much he loved her, and a candle also featuring photos of Eva.)
When proven that someone broke in and Eva did not “get the zoomies,” Mario later insisted that “a homeless guy” broke into my house and stole only my cat— not the laptop, jar of cash, or post gum surgery painkillers I had from a month prior all in plain sight in my room. This claim was made after I anonymously posted on Reddit asking for help about the situation, implying that I believed “my ex” stole Eva.
Week of October 15th —
This week I was sick with COVID and unable to leave my house. My car was parked a few blocks away with no indication that it belonged to someone at my house. When I finally felt well enough to go grocery shopping, I noticed a handwritten note and Eva’s collar left on my windshield. Both the collar and note are currently in Police evidence.
November 1 —
Mario had previously tried showing up across the street from my house, calling incessantly. When I did not want to be contacted, he showed up at my school and waited in the parking lot, leaning on my car so I could not leave. He doubled-down on the claim that an unhoused person stole my cat and claimed that he was “shot at” trying to rescue her from an encampment.
It is my belief, without a doubt, Mario J. Chavez stole my cat Eva and is trying to use this situation as a chance to “play hero”.
No matter the motive, he has stolen a terrified animal through means of burglary and is keeping her away from her lawful owner. Eva is older, sick, and an emotional support animal.