More than five years after a Miramar mother vanished without a trace, her husband's murder trial got underway Thursday.
Cid Torrez is facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of Vilet Torrez, who disappeared on March 31, 2012. Neither her body nor a murder weapon was found.
Opening statements were delivered Thursday before testimony began. Vilet Torrez's father took the stand, as well as a police officer who worked the case.
"That man killed her and that man disposed of her body, and her body has never been found," Broward County Assistant State Attorney Lanie Bandell said.
Prosecutors claim Cid Torrez, 43, killed her and dumped the body in the Everglades. They described Cid as jealous, installing spyware on Vilet's phone, tracking her movement and capable of listening to her conversations.
Prosecutors say cell phone records and SunPass records support their timeline of her murder. They said the night Cid vanished, their daughter heard a suspicious noise in the middle of the night.
Attorneys for Cid Torrez deny that he killed her. He faces life in prison if convicted.
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"The state's evidence will not prove to you that Vilet Torrez is dead," Richard Della Fara, the defendant's attorney, said. "The most the state's evidence is going to prove to you is that Vilet Torrez disappeared, and the evidence will show she has not been heard from."
