Nearly 40 years after a man allegedly killed his wife and young daughter in Miami-Dade, one of his surviving daughters and police are still hopeful that he'll be brought to justice.
Jorge Walter Nunez Paz, 75, remains wanted on two counts of second-degree murder in the 1985 killing of 37-year-old wife Nilsa Padilla and his 3-year-old daughter Alicia Guzman-Padilla.
Nunez's other daughter, Gloria Hampton, and Miami-Dade Police came together Tuesday to plead for the public's help in finding him.
"Knowing that he knows he got away with so much, it’s frustrating to know that," Hampton said. "Turn him in. You’re doing society a favor."
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Nunez, who also faces seven counts of sexual battery on a minor, had been convicted of numerous crimes and deported to Peru in 2004, before he was identified as a suspect in the killings. It's believed he may still be in Peru.
"He was arrested, he served time and he was then deported in 2004. We believe the deportation occurred in 2004 from Tampa to Peru. After that, there was a period of time where this investigation still had not come to light," Miami-Dade Police Det. Jonathan Grossman said. "The identity of Nilsa was still unknown at that time. It wasn’t until 2010, after he was deported, did we get that information where we were able to move the progression of the case."
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The cold case dates back to April of 1985, when dismembered body parts began washing ashore off Key Biscayne.
For two weeks, the gruesome finds stretched from Matheson Hammock in south Miami-Dade to the Newport Beachside Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach to the north.
"Those human remains were unidentified for approximately 25 years. In 2010, those remains were identified as belonging to Nilsa Padilla, our first victim in this case," Grossman said.
Grossman said Miami-Dade Police's Cold Case Unit began investigating the disappearance of the 3-year-old, Alicia. Her whereabouts are still unknown, but Hampton said she knows she was killed by Nunez.
"My other sister pointed at Alicia and blamed her for not eating the cereal. He got so enraged, he knocked her unconscious…and put her in a bag. He went outside and threw her in the dumpster…and that was the last time I saw my baby sister," Hampton said.
Hampton said she was only 4 when her sister was killed.
"I don’t have any memories of her. I don’t remember what she looks like. But I knew I had a sister. Her name was Alicia Guzman," she said.
Hampton said she and her other sister were badly beaten and neglected, on top of years of sexual abuse.
It wasn't until 2010 when Hampton met other family members that she went to police. She said she hadn't spoken up sooner because of the threats issued by Nunez.
"He always threatened us and made us not say anything to anybody. For me, it was a normal part of living," she said. "I remember, we were sitting in the back of the car with my dad and the last thing I heard my dad tell us was, 'whatever they say, lie' and we did."
Hampton said she did remember that when Nunez killed Padilla, he stuffed her body in an army green-colored bag. Some of her remains were found inside the bag back in 1985.
Police said Nunez last surfaced in Peru in 2020. But others may know his exact whereabouts.
"We believe there are people locally as well as in Massachusetts, possibly New Jersey that may have information as to his whereabouts," Grossman said. "Someone as dangerous as this individual doesn’t just stop committing crimes."
A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered through Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers for information leading to his arrest.
Hampton is hoping Nunez will be brought to justice, in part to answer questions that have bothered her for decades.
"Why? Why was all this done? What was your excuse to be so angry, to do what you did to my sister, to do what you did to my mom, to put us through what we went through. Why?" she said.
