The vehicle used in the fatal armed carjacking and abduction of a Homestead woman in central Florida has been located and is likely linked to another murder, while a deputy has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the shocking crime, officials said.
The bizarre developments in the killing of 31-year-old Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas were revealed by Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma at a news conference Monday.
"This is right out of a television show right?" Lemma told reporters. "There's a lot of bizarre circumstances here."
Shocking video from a witness showed the armed abduction of Aguasvivas in broad daylight on Thursday at a Winter Springs intersection.
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Lemma said Aguasvivas had left Homestead earlier in the day and was driving a white Dodge Durango when a green Acura rammed into her back bumper.
Aguasvivas called her husband and told him someone was following her and had rammed her, and the husband told her not to stop but neither of them called 911, Lemma said.
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The witness video showed Aguasvivas stopped at a red light at the intersection as a man in a mask got out of the Acura and approached the Dodge with a gun drawn.
He pointed the gun at Aguasvivas then got into the back of the Dodge.
“You need to do something now because I don't know what's going on," the witness told authorities in a 911 call from the incident. "He was chasing the car, hit the car, got out of the car with a hood over his face and had a machine gun it looked like."
Authorities believe the gunman forced Aguasvivas to continue driving while holding her at gunpoint.
Officials said the Dodge continued to drive into Osceola County, where they believe it ended up at a new construction area.
Less than two hours after the carjacking, authorities received a call of a vehicle on fire in the construction area and authorities arrived and found the burning vehicle, believed to be the Durango, with a body inside.
Authorities believe the body inside is Aguasvivas, though they're awaiting official confirmation from DNA or dental records.
Investigators also found a dozen shell casings at the scene, Lemma said. The casings are from 10mm rounds, consistent with the gun used in the carjacking, Lemma said.
At Monday's news conference, Lemma said the green Acura, the only one of its kind in Florida, was found abandoned Saturday in Orlando.
After a series of sales, the car had been out on the streets unregistered since February, and any license plate it had would have been stolen, Lemma said.
According to Lemma, the Acura had been towed from an apartment complex in Orange County back on March 19.
The tow truck driver involved was found murdered in a hail of bullets in Orange County on April 10, a day before the abduction of Aguasvivas, Lemma said.
A green vehicle matching the description of the Acura was at the scene, and of the 100 rounds fired at the scene at least one was a 10mm, which Lemma said is unique and uncommon.
Lemma was asked whether the deaths of Aguasvivas and the tow truck driver were connected.
"I absolutely think they're connected but we'll have to have physical evidence that absolutely proves that," he said.
Meanwhile, in another bizarre twist, an Orange County deputy was arrested amid the investigation into Aguasvivas' killing, Lemma said.
Deputy Francisco Estrella was arrested Sunday on five charges including obstructing a criminal investigation, illegal disclosure of communication, accessing a electronic device without authorization, eavesdropping and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
According to Lemma, after the Dodge and body were found, Aguasvivas' husband had contacted the deputy's wife, who is a family friend.
The deputy then contacted the Seminole Sheriff's Office seeking information about the case and the lead detective, Lemma said.
Estrella, who has only been a deputy for about a year, gave a false name and recorded the conversation, then illegally accessed the Florida driver's license system to get information about the lead detective, Lemma said.
The info and recording were handed over to Aguasvivas' husband, Lemma said.
"What they had to gain is something that I'm incredibly interested in," Lemma said. "Why would somebody do this? Why would they put their own job and life on the line to communicate with one of our detectives, to give an alias in the process? It's incredibly frightening."
Lemma said Aguasvivas' husband has been cooperative, and is not currently a person of interest or facing charges.
"Quite frankly I think he knows a lot more than what he shared," Lemma said. "You don't have your wife communicate with you that you're getting rammed by a car and go two hours without calling anybody."
Lemma said the husband handed over his phone, which led to the discovery of Estrella's involvement and his arrest.
But Lemma said there are still questions over the husband's initial reason for Aguasvivas' trip to central Florida, allegedly to see family members.
"I think the initial story was that she was up here to visit family members. I don't know that we believe that," Lemma said. "I think that there's a lot more blanks that he could help fill in about the circumstances involving this particular crime and now potentially other crimes."
Lemma was also asked if he thinks the case could be linked to gang or cartel members.
"I think that any person who looks at these circumstances would automatically go there. And our investigation is also exploring any possibilities of that," he said. "But at this point in time I'm not ready to turn that rock over and disclose whether or not we're gonna do that."
The lead detective whose information was accessed is being protected by additional resources as a precaution.
"The last place that anybody would want to go is around this detective, I can promise you that," Lemma said.
Authorities are trying to determine a motive for the killing of Aguasvivas but Lemma said it appears the occupants of the Acura knew who they were targeting.
Investigators have also been searching for the two suspects believed to have been in the Acura.
"We still have incredibly dangerous people that are out there on the streets. We still want to encourage our public to again not approach these individuals, they should be perceived as armed and dangerous," Lemma said.
