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Woman stabbed to death by boyfriend one of nearly 1,300 domestic violence deaths a year

It has been called a silent epidemic as nearly 1,300 deaths every year are caused by domestic violence.

A Westside man told police that he killed his girlfriend because she was cheating, according to authorities. The suspect, Jose Sevillano-Montanez, is accused of stabbing her to death.

The man has a history of domestic violence cases.

Action News Jax found in 2007 that he was charged with domestic battery. It’s unclear who the victim was and it appears that he was placed on probation and had to take court-ordered classes.

Sevillano-Montanez, 40, walked into a police substation and admitted to the deadly attack, police said. His girlfriend, Maribel Perez Ortiz, was found dead Tuesday with a knife in her chest in the driver's seat of a car by her teenage children.

The two are from Puerto Rico and had been together for a few years.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in three women have been victims of domestic violence. Action News Jax found that nearly 33 percent of all police time is spent on domestic violence-related calls, and nearly $6 billion a year is spent on health-related costs of domestic violence.

Perez Ortiz’s sister, who lives in Puerto Rico, posted on Facebook that Sevillano-Montanez is trying to tarnish her sister’s reputation and said that he is crazy and would send daily love messages.

Sevillano-Montanez is expected to appear Wednesday in Duval County Court.

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