Masked man involved in a carjack says he was paid $1,500 to kidnap her and drop her off – before she was found dead in a burned-out vehicle
‘This case is about drugs and money,’ said Sheriff Dennis Lemma as the events of the horrific fatal carjack begin to slowly unfold
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A man questioned over his involvement in a carjack-murder in Orlando has admitted to authorities that he was paid $1,500 to kidnap her and deliver her to another individual – yet her body was found hours later in her torched vehicle.
The 31-year-old Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas was driving north from Homestead, Florida, on 11 April at around 4pm when her white Dodge Durango was rammed from behind by a green Acura.
When she came to a red traffic light in Winter Springs, a masked man in a hoodie was caught on camera by a witness jumping out of the vehicle at a traffic stop and pointing a black rifle at Aguasvivas.
Jordanish Torres-Garcia identified himself to investigators as the armed masked man but claims that his weapon, an AR-15, was not loaded and was given to him just half an hour before the carjacking took place, according to an affidavit filed Thursday obtained by The Independent.
However, Mr Garcia appeared to suggest that the carjacking was premeditated, as he said he was paid $1,500 to deliver her to a mystery individual, who was not identified in the court documents.
The person of interest told authorities that he allegedly met someone 30 minutes before the carjacking, who gave him the AR-15, adding that minutes before the incident, he received a call, telling him that Aguasvivas was on the way.
When they spotted Aguasvivas, Mr Garcia claimed that he and another person in the green Acura initially “bumped” her car to try and get her to stop, but she kept on driving until she was forced to stop at a red light in Winter Springs.
After confronting the victim with the weapon, the masked man was seen entering her vehicle on the rear driver’s side while still holding the rifle.
The white Dodge Durango and the green Acura made a U-turn away from the scene of the carjacking, the affidavit states.
Yet, hours after the carjacking unfolded, a person believed by authorities to be Aguasvivas was found dead at a construction area neighbouring Osceola County with multiple bullet wounds and her body inside her vehicle that had been set on fire, investigators say.
The affidavit did not provide any further insight into how the brazen carjacking escalated to a point at which the 31-year-old was found in her torched vehicle.
Before the woman was found dead, the last person she allegedly spoke to via FaceTime was Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez, who the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office believe was the person Aguasvivas was on her way to meet at his home to deliver money and other items.
Mr Hernandez turned himself in to the police on Monday and remains incarcerated on charges of fentanyl trafficking and marijuana with intent to sell, but has not been charged in connection with the carjacking/homicide, the sheriff’s office clarified.
“This case is about drugs and money,” Sheriff Lemma said at the conference. “We believe the most dangerous people connected with this case are now off our streets.”
The person driving the green Acura is believed by authorities to be Kevin Ocasio Justiniano, who has also been taken into custody in Puerto Rico on unrelated drug trafficking and weapons charges.
Mr Garcia, the man who claims he was the masked man pointing the gun at the now-deceased victim, was taken into custody on 19 April on unrelated charges when he was questioned by detectives.
Authorities suspected that Mr Garcia was first involved in the crime when they spotted his Facebook profile photo, where he was wearing the same mask and outfit as the suspect in the carjacking video.
The sheriff’s office has referred Mr Garcia’s and Mr Justiniano’s cases over to the US Attorney’s Office, where they expect they will be charged with carjacking resulting in death.
Mr Garcia’s court-appointed attorney, Roger Weeden, told WSVN that “going forward, the initial plea after indictment is always ‘not guilty,’ which freezes the case, allows for discovery, defense investigation and pre-resolution negotiations”.
The Independent has contacted Mr Weeden for comment.