Florida deputy arrested in connection with abduction of Miami mom found dead in burnt-out car
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
MIAMI, FLORIDA: The abduction and subsequent murder of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas in Miami have taken a new twist with the arrest of a Florida deputy.
The 31-year-old mother from Homestead was forcibly taken from a busy intersection before being found dead in her burnt-out car, sparking a harrowing investigation.
Harrowing discovery of Katherine Aguasvivas's body
Aguasvivas's abduction unfolded in front of shocked onlookers on April 11, just prior to 6 pm, as she urgently called her husband, alerting him to someone following her and crashing into her vehicle.
Surprisingly, she neither contacted 911 nor stopped, adhering to her husband's directives.
Unfortunately, her charred remains were found in her vehicle hours later by detectives from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
In a surprising turn of events, Sheriff Dennis Lemma disclosed during a press conference that a 33-year-old Orange County deputy, Francisco Estrella, had been arrested in connection with the case.
Deputy faces felony charges for illicitly disclosing case information
Estrella, who was childhood friends with Aguasvivas's husband, now faces serious felony charges for secretly recording and disclosing case information to the victim's family.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Estrella impersonated Aguasvivas's cousin, using the alias "Francisco Archuela," to contact investigators, expressing concern for the investigation and the victim's safety.
Disturbingly, he acquired sensitive case information, including recording conversations with investigators without their awareness.
Further investigation revealed WhatsApp messages between Estrella and Aguasvivas's husband, containing unlawfully obtained information about the case and law enforcement databases.
Although her husband is not considered a person of interest, detectives suspect he may have withheld crucial information.
"I've described the husband as cooperative; quite frankly I think he knows a lot more than what he's shared," said Lemma. "You don't have your wife communicate with you that you're getting rammed by a car and go two hours without calling anybody," reported Daily Mail.
Katherine Aguasvivas's abduction linked to another case of fatal shooting
Lemma emphasized that Aguasvivas's husband willingly provided his phone for forensic analysis, underscoring that without this cooperation, the discovery of the Orange County deputy's involvement might not have emerged at this point in the investigation.
Additionally, the Sheriff revealed that the green Acura involved in the carjacking incident, which collided with Aguasvivas's vehicle, was found abandoned in an unoccupied apartment complex in Orange County on Saturday morning.
The vehicle, linked to Aguasvivas's abduction, has also been tied to another case involving the fatal shooting of a tow truck driver in Taft, Florida.
On March 19, the Acura was towed from an Orange County apartment complex by 39-year-old Juan Luis Cintron Garcia.
Remarkably, Lemma revealed that some of the ammunition found at the scene where Garcia was tragically killed matched the bullets recovered from the location where Aguasvivas met her untimely demise.
Katherine Aguasvivas's abduction
On April 11, a witness following Aguasvivas recorded the alarming daytime altercation and quickly alerted emergency services.
The video showed a masked individual, dressed in a ski mask and black hoodie, stepping out of an Acura sedan and approaching Aguasvivas's Dodge Durango.
Holding a 10mm handgun, the attacker aimed the weapon at Aguasvivas as she unlocked her vehicle's doors, then proceeded to enter through the rear driver's side door.
As per detectives from the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, the assailant then relocated to the passenger seat, with another individual following in the Acura sedan.
Shortly thereafter, law enforcement authorities received reports of gunfire and smoke coming from a location in Osceola County, less than two hours after the carjacking.
Investigators found a heavily burned vehicle at the scene, believed to be Aguasvivas's Dodge Durango, located at a construction site.
Adjacent to the vehicle, they recovered a dozen 10mm shell casings and a single projectile, highlighting the severity and violence of the incident.
"There is no clear indicator why somebody would do this," said Lemma. "But we do feel and believe...that this was not a random act of violence. The perpetrators knew exactly who they were going after, why they were going after them. There’s a lot of unknowns, a lot of things that will leave people scratching your head."
