ORLANDO, Fla. (WFLA) — A missing persons case out of Orange County reportedly came to a tragic end last month after authorities said they found a woman dead and dismembered in a suitcase on the side of a Georgia highway.
The investigation began with a welfare check at a home in the Waterford Lakes area on the morning of Oct. 29, according to NBC affiliate WESH.
A friend told Orange County deputies that he had started receiving concerning text messages from one of the residents, 41-year-old Jorge Javier Quintero. When authorities got there, they couldn’t find Quintero or his girlfriend, 29-year-old Carmen Elsa Escalante Carrera.
Instead, they were met with a gruesome scene, according to descriptions in an arrest report. Deputies reported finding a large kitchen knife, a bloodied bathtub, bloody clothes and handwritten letters that they said were consistent with suicide notes.
Security footage reportedly showed a man walking out of the back door and driving off in a white truck just 30 minutes before. Through their investigation, deputies said they were able to confirm that Quintero had rented that same white truck.
Also inside the home was information for another nearby apartment complex. Investigators said they learned that the couple was in a new relationship and was in the process of moving into the building.
Detectives continued their search for Quintero and Escalante Carrera at their new unit, which had already been leased to Quintero. According to the arrest report, the door was unlocked when authorities got there.
While inside, deputies said they found bloody towels, additional blood spots on the wall and many of Escalante Carrera’s personal items, except her phone. By 1:30 p.m., detectives said her phone was pinging in Seminole County, Georgia.
Pings from license plate readers reportedly showed the white truck traveling in a similar direction. Some license plate readers also captured photos of the truck. Officials said the photos appeared to show a trash bag that was in the shape of a human body in the bed of the truck.
As their investigation continued, detectives said they were able to obtain security footage from a Lake City, Florida gas station that showed Quintero making purchases using Escalante Carrera’s phone. However, she was nowhere to be seen.
Then, on Oct. 31, the U.S. Marshals found Quintero and the rented truck in Alabama, where they got into a shootout. Quintero was critically injured, but deputies told WESH he was still alive as of Nov. 26.
Escalante Carrera was not with Quintero when the shootout occurred. However, Georgia officials reported finding human remains in a suitcase on the side of a highway about three hours later.
The remains were visibly identified as Escalante Carrera. According to the arrest affidavit, she was found in brutal condition. Detectives said a power cord was wrapped around her neck and her body parts were fully or partially dismembered.
A medical examiner said Escalante Carrera died from ligature strangulation.
Quintero is facing a first-degree murder charge, according to the sheriff’s office.
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