The investigation into the fatal carjacking of a south Florida woman in central Florida last week has taken a few twists and turns with the discovery of the vehicle the suspects used prior to stealing Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas’s SUV — and the arrest of a sheriff’s deputy in another county for leaking information to Aguasvivas’s husband.
The green Acura the suspects drove was later found abandoned in Orlando and was linked to the murder of a tow truck driver in Orange County on April 10 — a day before the carjacking, WTVJ reported.
The terrifying carjacking was captured on video by a witness, who called 911 to report that a green Acura had rammed a white Dodge Durango at an intersection in Winter Springs, and the gunman got out of the Acura, pointing the gun at Aguasvivas.
“You need to do something now because I don’t know what’s going on,” the witness said during the 911 call. “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.”
The suspect got into the back of the Durango, and it drove off, with the Acura behind, as CrimeOnline reported. Aguasvivas, meanwhile, had called her husband back in Homestead, more than 280 miles away, to tell him the Acura had been following her and that it had rammed her. He told her not to stop, but it was too late. And he didn’t call authorities for two hours.
Less than two hours later, deputies in Osceola County learned of a car fire and found the Dodge Durango burning, with a body inside. Investigators believe the body belongs to Aguasvivas but are awaiting the medical examiner’s confirmation. Investigators also found a number of 10mm shells at the scene, believed to be consistent with the gun used in the carjacking, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.
A vehicle matching the description of the Acura had been at the scene of the tow truck driver’s murder, said Lemma, who also said about 100 rounds were fired at that scene — and at least one was from a 10mm gun, according to WTVJ. The Acura, the sheriff said, had been on the streets unregistered since February and any license plate it bore would have been stolen.
Lemma said he “absolutely” believes the deaths of the tow truck driver and Aguasvivas are connected, “but we’ll have to have physical evidence that absolutely proves that.”
Meanwhile, Orange County Deputy Francisco Estrella, whose wife is a family friend of Aguasvivas’s husband, was arrested on Sunday and charged with five felonies after he contacted the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office looking for information about the case. He gave a false name and recorded the conversation, Lemma said, and afterward illegally accessed the Florida driver’s license system to obtain information about the lead detective.
He handed over all the information, including the lead detective’s address and phone number, to the 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.”
Aguasvivas’s husband has been cooperative, but Lemma said he believes “he knows a lot more than he shared.”
“You don’t have your wife communicate with you that you’re getting rammed by a car and go two hours without calling anybody,” he said.
Lemma said the husband gave investigators his phone, which is how they learned about Estrella’s involvement. Estrella has been charged with 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.
The lead detective in the case now has a protection detail.
Lemma also said there are more questions about why Aguasvivas was in Seminole county.
“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.”
The two main questions now, Lemma said, are why was Aguasvivas targeted and who killed her.
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.
“We still have incredibly dangerous people that are out there on the streets,” Lemma said. “We still want to encourage our public to again not approach these individuals, they should be perceived as armed and dangerous.”
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas/Seminole County Sheriff’s Office]
