A missing Miramar woman’s estranged husband made several disturbing comments months before her disappearance, including a prediction that his wife would die if she ever left him, according to an arrest warrant.
Cid Lenin Torrez, 39, allegedly told a friend that if he couldn’t have his wife, Vilet Torrez, nobody could, the warrant said. He also allegedly said that if Vilet Torrez wasn’t with him, “she’s dead,” the warrant said.
The arrest warrant was released by Miramar police on Friday, a day after Cid Torrez was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in his wife’s death. A Broward County grand jury indicted Torrez, even though no body has been found.
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Torrez's lawyer, Richard Della Fera, has defended his client, saying that Cid Torrez had nothing to do with his wife's disappearance. He said Torrez has been wrongly accused in a circumstantial case.
He said many statements in the arrest warrant are unreliable and said he planned to challenge those statements in court.
According to the arrest warrant, Cid Torrez last year told a friend of the couple, Carlos Prada, that he couldn’t take "the cheating" any longer and that the marriage was over.
According to police, Cid Torrez allegedly:
-- Told Prada he wanted to kill Zoe Rodriguez, Vilet Torrez's boyfriend, to get him out of the picture.
-- Told Prada that if he couldn’t have Vilet Torrez, no one could.
-- Asked Prada several times how to obtain a gun illegally.
-- Came up with several scenarios to kill Vilet Torrez, including hiring someone or making it look like a robbery.
-- Asked Prada for help installing surveillance cameras to monitor Vilet Torrez at home.
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Vilet Patricia Torrez, 38, was reported missing on April 2 by Cid Torrez, investigators said.
While Vilet Torrez was driving through the gates of the Harbour Lake Townhomes at 5:17 a.m. on March 31, her husband was inside their residence on Southwest 28th Court with the children, police said.
During the police investigation, Cid and Vilet Torrez's oldest daughter told police that she and her two siblings were sleeping on March 31. The girl told police she heard what sounded like howling and heard crying from either her mother or father, the warrant said.
She said she then heard her father in the other room sniffling and saying, "No, you wake up," several times, the warrant said.
The girl said she didn't walk toward where the noises were coming from, the warrant said. Rather, she went back to sleep and awoke about noon that day.
In August, police dogs trained to detect the smell of human remains were brought to sniff Cid Torrez's vehicle. Both dogs detected "the odor of humans remains in the trunk area of the vehicle, as well as coming from the back seat," the warrant said.
NBC 6 spoke to Zoe Rodriguez, who said Cid Torrez had phoned him several times before Vilet Torrez's disappearance. Rodriguez said that Torrez threatened him, telling him he didn't know who he was messing with.
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