Detectives give update on mum who was abducted before being found dead in her burnt out car
Stefania Sarrubba
Featured Image Credit: Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Florida detectives have shared an update about the case of the 31-year-old woman who was abducted before being found dead in a burnt out car.
Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma gave a statement about the horrific death of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguavivas, explaining that her husband has been cooperating with the local authorities.
De Aguavivas was abducted in broad daylight just before 6.00pm on 11 April. At the time, the woman realised she was being followed by someone who had rammed her car and immediately called her husband. However, she didn't call the police, nor did her husband tell her to stop.
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A witness had described the chilling scene, seeing a hooded man getting out of his car - an Acura sedan - and approaching De Aguavivas' vehicle, pointing a 10mm handgun at her.
When De Aguasvivas unlocked the doors, the man climbed into the rear driver's side door before De Aguasvivas resumed driving, while another man followed behind them in the Acura sedan.
The police found remains of a body believed to be De Aguavivas' in a badly burnt out car at a construction site in Oceola County and are still looking for suspects.
Meanwhile, an arrest has been made in connection to the case.
An Orange County deputy was held in custody for secretly recording and disclosing information about the case to De Aguasvivas' husband.
Francisco Estrella, who investigators say was childhood friends with De Aguasvivas' husband, now faces five felony charges after being accused of posing as De Aguavivas' cousin and asking for information about the case.
When De Aguavivas' husband handed in his phone, detectives found evidence of WhatsApp conversations between him and Estrella, including a picture of the business card for the investigator on the case that Estrella reached out to and a video recording of the conversation between Estrella and the investigator, who was unaware she was being filmed.
"I've described the husband as cooperative; quite frankly I think he knows a lot more than what he's shared," Sheriff Lemma said.
Lemma explained the police wouldn't have found out about Estrella's alleged involvement had De Aguavivas' husband not given up his phone for a forensic examination.
"We would not have known about the Orange County deputy, at least not yet, if he did not do that," Lemma said, while explaining there are still puzzling elements to the case.
"You don't have your wife communicate with you that you're getting rammed by a car and go two hours without calling anybody," he said.
"There is no clear indicator why somebody would do this.
"But we do feel and believe...that this was not a random act of violence. The perpetrators knew exactly who they were going after, why they were going after them.
"Why did she and her husband not call 911? I don’t know. Why did she stop at the red light? There’s a lot of things that we’ll absolutely never know, but this is a tragic incident nevertheless."