The husband of a Miami-Dade woman who disappeared in November has been arrested for her murder after remains were found in a canal in Broward County, officials said.
Jimmy Torres, 36, was arrested Thursday on a second-degree murder charge in the death of 33-year-old Maribel Torres, Miami-Dade Police officials said.
No one had heard from Maribel Torres since she disappeared on Nov. 30 from the 17300 block of Northwest 62nd Court, police said. She was finally reported missing by her father in April.
According to an arrest report, Maribel Torres' father said Jimmy Torres told him that she had gotten pregnant from another man and ran away, leaving their children behind.
Jimmy Torres told detectives he last saw his wife in December, when she packed some personal items and left their home, the report said. Her daughter told investigators she had not seen her mother since November.
On Thursday, a witness came forward who said Jimmy Torres confessed to the murder of his wife, saying they got into a physical altercation and he struck her on the head with a metal rod, the report said.
Jimmy's sister is defending her brother, saying he didn't do it.
"My brother is innocent," said Sujey Pereira. "He would never touch his wife. That is all a lie. He is being framed. It's Father's Day weekend and they wanted to see him in jail for the weekend and just frame him for something that he didn't do."
The witness said Jimmy Torres put his wife's body in a box then took it to a canal in Dania Beach where the remains were deposited, the report said. The witness brought detectives to where the box was left and the remains were found, the report said.
The remains are believed to be those of Maribel Torres and will be officially identified by the medical examiner, officials said.
At a news conference Friday, Maribel Torres' sister, Maybel Montesino, said Jimmy Torres lied to her family for months to make it seem like she was alive.
"We were receiving text messages from my sister's phone saying that she had moved to Homestead, that she found a new job. She was going to get a new phone so she would be texting from his phone," Montesino said.
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Montesino said she had custody of the couple's two children - ages 7 and 10 - until earlier this month when Jimmy Torres regained custody, despite the fact he was suspected in his wife's disappearance and charged with sexual battery of a minor.
"I want him to rot in prison and go to jail for the rest of his life and never come out and destroy any more families, or hurt any more children," Montesino said.
Jimmy Torres was being held without bond Friday, jail records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.
