KISSIMMEE, Fla. (Court TV) — A woman is behind bars after allegedly stabbing a pregnant victim 14 times over a pizza delivery tip, and police are searching for her accomplice.
Brianna Alvelo is accused of stabbing a pregnant woman 14 times. (Osceola County Jail)
Brianna Alvelo is charged with attempted murder with a weapon, home invasion with a firearm, and aggravated assault with a weapon for the attack on a woman at a Florida motel.
Police say the victim, Melinda Irizarry, who was staying at a hotel with her boyfriend and 5-year-old daughter, was attacked after ordering a pizza. Alvelo, who delivered the food, allegedly became upset after she was only given a $2 tip.
Irizarry told officers that she had tried to find smaller bills after Alvelo refused to make change for the pizza but could not find more bills. She said that Alvelo “rolled her eyes and walked away without saying anything” after taking the money.
Later, Irizarry said she, her daughter and her boyfriend were asleep in bed when there was a loud banging on the door. When they opened the door, a large man and a woman forced their way in, armed with a knife and a gun. Police say the male suspect took Irizarry’s boyfriend into the bathroom and left the women and child in the bedroom.
Irizarry said Alvelo began going through her things, dumping out her purse and breaking her daughter’s Nintendo Switch.
“[The victim] then turned her back on the female to shield her daughter. Once [Irizarry] turned her back, she felt a hard strike to her lower back. [Irizarry] thought the female punched her until she looked down and saw blood coming from her back.”
“It wasn’t like she was just upset,” Irizarry told WSVN. “It was like she was in a frenzy mode.”
Irizarry said the attack stopped when the male suspect yelled it was time to go. Police said she was stabbed a total of 14 times across her chest, arms, legs, and abdomen. She suffered a punctured lung and was rushed to surgery after arriving at the hospital, where they determined she was several weeks pregnant.
The charges against Alvelo carry a potential life sentence in prison if convicted. She is currently being held without bail in the Osceola County Jail.
