Mexican singer, 21, ‘shot dead while restraining her husband, 79, in the middle of a restaurant after she tried to divorce him’
A SINGER was shot to death by her elderly husband in a restaurant after trying to divorce him for months, it is alleged.
Yrma Lydya, 21, was shot down by Jesus Hernandez, 79, in her private room at a Japanese restaurant in Mexico City, police said.
Folk artist Lydya was eating at the location in the Benito Juarez neighborhood when she was killed last Thursday.
The pair were dragged in succession in a private room and Hernandez shot his young wife three times in the chest, it was alleged.
It is also alleged that he and his bodyguard, Benjamin Hernandez, then attempted to flee the scene in a luxury car before being pursued by police.
Hernandez then tried to bribe officers to let him go, reports claim.
The horrifying murder came after Lydya contacted a law firm in April about starting divorce proceedings.
Mexican newspaper Excelsior reported that she had posted photos of her bruised face after several domestic abuse cases.
Lydya also filed a police report in December that her husband beat her and threatened her with a gun on another occasion.
Mexico City security director Omar Garcia Harfuch said Hernandez met the two at the restaurant at 2 p.m. last Thursday, before leaving around 6 p.m., news network Milenio reported.
Lydya then went to the restaurant and it is believed that gunshots were heard in the restaurant after she and her husband started arguing.
An officer present at the restaurant rushed into a private room and overpowered Hernandez, a witness told the Primer Impacto news program.
Harfuch confirmed that the singer was dead after being shot three times in the chest.
Hernandez and his bodyguard appeared in court on Sunday and are currently being held in pre-trial detention at a Mexico City prison as police continue to investigate.
The attorney pleaded not guilty and insisted he did not kill Lydya, who was to perform at a concert in California on Saturday.
Hernandez will return to court on Thursday after his request to be placed under house arrest due to his age was denied by a judge.