‘Say goodbye to Mommy:’ Man says God told him to behead girlfriend as child watched, cops say

Police say a Mount Vernon., Wash., man beheaded his girlfriend in front of a 3-year-old because he believed God had commanded him to “strike her down,” according to police documents obtained by Seattle PI and other local media.

Now 32-year-old Timothy Hernandez faces a charge of premeditated murder and is jailed on a $1 million bond, according to jail records.

Hernandez’s parents were the ones who stumbled upon the headless body of 27-year-old Vanessa Cons when they returned home from church, Seatte PI reported. They told police the couple had argued the night before, according to the site.

The victim’s head had been removed from her body and placed on her torso, and police found multiple stab wounds on her body as well as a bloody butcher knife in the sink, the Skagit Valley Herald reported. Crime scene technicians also found bloody footprints that led to the sink, according to Skagit Breaking.

Hernandez was arrested at a nearby mall, where investigators said he told them he had spoken with God and God had “told him to strike down his girlfriend … because she did not repent,” according to police documents obtained by KIRO.

A 3-year-old child he cared for with Cons was with him at the time, according to the station.

Police say Hernandez quoted Bible verses that referred to women being disobedient to God, and reportedly admitted that he “struck her down” and was not crazy because he was telling “the truth,” Skagit Breaking reported.

Police say Hernandez also told them God “works in mysterious ways” and he shouldn’t question God’s will, according to the Skagit Valley Herald.

Police interviewed the 3-year-old girl, who told them she saw her father cut her mother with scissors and that Hernandez had told her to “say goodbye to Mommy,” Seattle PI reported.

Investigators say the girl told them she heard her mother scream as the woman was being attacked, Skagit Breaking reported.

Cons’ older brother set up a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral expenses.

“This feels like a bad dream. My sister, Vanessa Cons, was a very loving person, who put her children first and herself last,” the GoFundme says. “Despite any challenges she might have been faced with in life she tried her best to stay positive and meet obstacles head on. Her smile would brighten any room and will never be forgotten. She is dearly missed.”

Hernandez is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 6, KIRO reported. He remains in jail.

This story was originally published August 30, 2018 at 7:46 AM.