Newly released audio reveals the man now charged in the murder of Cuban reggaeton star El Taiger had called 911 after allegedly shooting the singer in the head, prosecutors said.
El Taiger, whose real name was Jose Manuel Carbajal Zaldivar, was found unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound in the back of an SUV near Northwest 9th Avenue and 17th Street back on Oct. 3, 2024. He died from his injuries days later, on Oct. 10.
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WATCH HEREDamian Valdez-Galloso, 49, is now facing several charges in connection with the fatal shooting, including first-degree murder, attempted tampering with physical evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the shooting.
In the audio released Wednesday, prosecutors said Valdez-Galloso is heard reporting to 911 that he saw a man being thrown into a black Jeep in front of Jackson Memorial.
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"I was passing by, snooping, as I parked, and I saw the car was on," he tells the dispatcher in Spanish. "I thought it was strange. I didn’t see anyone in there, I leaned in and it appears there’s a man thrown in the car."
The dispatcher asks if the man inside was asleep and if he tried knocking on the car window.
"I knocked, I said yo, but I saw a ton of blood on the floor," Valdez-Galloso says.
"On the floor outside of the car?" the dispatcher asks.
"No, inside the car when I looked through the window," Valdez-Galloso says.
"And it’s a man?" the dispatcher asks.
"A man, yes," Valdez-Galloso says. "He is semi-naked."
Body camera footage also showed an officer responding and finding the SUV running with El Taiger in the back, unresponsive.
Less than three weeks after El Taiger died from his injuries, Valdez-Galloso was detained in New York City.
According to an arrest affidavit, the singer went to Valdez-Galloso's home early that morning. Valdez-Galloso opened the door and shot El Taiger in the head, police said, in a shocking crime caught on video and obtained by NBC6.
Valdez-Galloso has claimed he acted in self-defense.
