Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office
Authorities in Florida have revealed shocking new details about a carjacking that left a 31-year-old woman dead. During a Monday (April 5) news briefing, Seminole County Sheriff Daniel Lemma said the murder of Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvias' may be linked to the fatal shooting of a tow truck driver.
Deputies believe De Aguasvivas was sitting in her white Dodge Durango at a stop light in the Winter Springs area when a gunman got out of a green Acura and approached her car on April 11. Video recorded by a witness shows the suspect pointing his firearm at the driver-side window before getting into De Aguasvivas' vehicle. Both the Durango and Acura then drive off.
Officials later found De Aguasvivas dead inside her burned-out Durango at a construction site. SCSO suspects she was fatally shot before the vehicle was set on fire. Investigators believe the suspects and Aguasvivas knew each other.
Lemma said a tow truck driver was killed a day before the deadly carjacking, and the green Acura was spotted at the scene. Over 100 rounds were fired, including rare ammo, according to deputies. He noted the green Acura was towed away from an Orange County apartment complex on March 19 because it was parked illegally.
The sheriff said the cases are either “connected, or it’s a heck of a coincidence.”
Law enforcement found the green Acura illegally parked at an Orange County apartment complex on Saturday (April 13). No word on the suspects' whereabouts as of Tuesday morning (April 16).
The sheriff's office also revealed Orange County deputy Francisco Estrella was arrested Sunday (April 14) for allegedly leaking information about the case to the Aguasvivas family. Estrella is accused of using a fake name to get the personal information of the SCSO detectives working on the investigation and recording a conversation.
According to Lemma, Aguasvivas' husband and his brother contacted a childhood friend, who happened to be Estrella's wife, for the information. He's not considered a person of interest in the case and “not likely to be charged," the sheriff said.
The victim's husband told deputies his wife was visiting family in Central Florida, but authorities couldn't confirm the woman had relatives in the area.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact SCSO.