Body Found in Car ID'd as Missing Woman

The Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office has positively identified the remains inside an SUV found in a canal Monday as that of Raquel Maria Calderin. She had been missing since September 4, 2012.

The blue Ford Expedition that belonged to Calderin was found in a canal on Krome Avenue about one mile north of 8th Street.

Calderin’s disappearance led to first-degree murder and aggravated stalking charges to be filed against her husband Jesus Maqueira, 55. Calderin, 42, allegedly had a verbal dispute with Maqueria at her workplace on September 4, 2012. Calderin left work about 9:30 p.m. and hadn’t been seen since.

Police said when they interviewed Maqueira at the time of his arrest, he gave conflicting statements before admitting to the murder. "Look, I killed her, so take me to jail," he said, according to the arrest affidavit. He also mocked detectives for not having a body which would make murder charges tough.

According to the Miami Herald, it wasn’t Maqueira’s boasting, but his father who may have led police to the SUV in the canal.

The Herald reported the elder Maqueira was confronted with “car toll records” and “finally confided last week to detectives that on the night Raquel Calderin vanished, he had picked up his son from a gas station at the corner of Tamiami Trail at Krome Avenue.”

The Herald said the tip allowed them to narrow the search area and eventually find the Expedition. In addition to the body, detectives said they found a “serrated butcher knife and clothes believed to be Carlderin’s with rip marks,” the Herald reported.

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