Blood-covered man stops driver, then woman found stabbed to death, FL cops say

A man covered in blood with two kids flagged down a delivery driver, leading to the discovery of a woman who had been fatally stabbed over 25 times, Florida authorities said.

Salah Chellih, 71, is now charged with second-degree murder, Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced in a Sept. 18 news conference.

Chellih was related to the victim, with the sheriff describing the incident as domestic in nature, but law enforcement would not clarify their relationship when McClatchy News reached out.

A delivery driver told investigators he was in Bonita Springs at 3 p.m. on Sept. 17 when he was stopped by a bloody man and two children, who also had blood on them, according to the sheriff.

While the delivery driver was calling 911, Chellih led him and a neighbor into a home, where they saw a woman “lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor,” Marceno said.

When deputies arrived, Chellih, who didn’t speak much English, put his hands on his head, knelt down and surrendered, according to the sheriff.

First responders found the woman dead with over 25 stab wounds, Marceno said. Although the children had blood on them, they were physically unharmed, he added.

“The witnesses that were put into this gruesome tragedy did a great job,” Marceno said, thanking them for their help.

Bonita Springs is about a 15-mile drive north from Naples in southwest Florida.

This story was originally published September 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Blood-covered man stops driver, then woman found stabbed to death, FL cops say."