Florida

Missing Florida woman found dead, dismembered in suitcase

Published

2 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Missing Florida woman found dead, dismembered in suitcase

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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Florida

Florida golfer fatally beaten with his own clubs in a random attack, police say

Published

10 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Florida golfer fatally beaten with his own clubs in a random attack, police say

A Florida golfer has died after he was beaten with his own clubs and choked in what police believe was a random attack by a man with a history of violence whose family had just kicked him out of their home.

Brian Hiltebeitel, 65, was playing Monday afternoon at the Sandhill Crane Golf Club when Palm Beach Gardens police say he was attacked by 36-year-old Junior Boucher, who had been reported missing an hour earlier by his family. Court records show that earlier Monday, members of Boucher’s family had filed an eviction notice to remove him from their house.

According to a police report, witnesses heard Hiltebeitel scream, “He’s trying to kill me,” and then saw Boucher beating him with a club on the first fairway. Hiltebeitel tried to run away, but Boucher retrieved another club from Hiltebeitel’s bag and chased him into a pond, where he jumped on top of him, choked him and again beat him, police said.

Police Chief Dominick Pape said no connection has been found between Hiltebeitel and Boucher nor is there any immediate evidence of a confrontation or argument before the attack.

After the attack, Boucher stripped off his clothes and fled into the woods. Officers had to use a stun gun to subdue him. Boucher was being held without bond Wednesday after being charged with first-degree murder. He has previous arrests for domestic battery, battery on a police officer and drug possession.

Hiltebeitel, who had owned an organic snack food company, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Palm Beach County Public Defender’s Office, which is representing Boucher, did not respond to an email seeking comment Wednesday. It has a policy of not commenting on pending cases.

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Florida

Florida makes change to 2025 non-conference football schedule

Published

18 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Florida makes change to 2025 non-conference football schedule

The Florida Gators have made a change to their 2025 non-conference football schedule, according to a report from Swamp247.

Florida previously had all four of its non-conference opponents set for next season, including a matchup at home on Saturday, October 11 against the Florida A&M Rattlers of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Per the report, that game will not be played.

Instead, Florida has scheduled a different FCS opponent and it will be the season-opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla., likely on Saturday, Aug. 30. That opponent will reportedly be the Long Island University (LIU) Sharks of the Northeast Conference (NEC).

We previously reported that LIU was scheduled to open the 2025 season on the road against the FIU Panthers on Aug. 30. If the Sharks are instead playing at the Gators as reported, their contest against the Panthers will have to be rescheduled. The LIU-FIU contract was signed in February of this year and also includes a men’s basketball game.

The Florida Gators did not previously have a season-opening contest scheduled, so that is likely the reason for their schedule alteration. Other non-conference opponents scheduled for the Gators in 2025 include the USF Bulls at home on Sept. 6, the Miami Hurricanes on the road on Sept. 20, and the Florida State Seminoles in Gainesville to close the regular-season on Nov. 29.

In SEC action next season, Florida is scheduled to host Georgia (in Jacksonville), Mississippi State, Tennessee, and Texas and travel to Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. SEC opponents in 2025 are the same as the 2024 season, but with the locations flipped.

Florida, which has claimed consecutive victories over ranked conference opponents at home — No. 22 LSU (27-16) and No. 9 Ole Miss (24-17) — is next scheduled to visit the 2-9 Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, Nov. 30 in Tallahassee, Fla. The game will be televised by ESPN2 at 7:00pm ET.

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Florida

Gold coins stolen from centuries-old Spanish convoy in $1M heist recovered by Florida authorities

Published

1 day ago

November 26, 2024

Press Room

Gold coins stolen from centuries-old Spanish convoy in M heist recovered by Florida authorities

Florida authorities recovered a collection of gold coins from an 18th-century Spanish convoy that was stolen in 2015.

The 37 gold coins were snatched from the 1715 Spanish Treasure Fleet and have a total value of $1 million, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission press release.

The 1715 Fleet was a combination of two different groups of Spanish ships, all under one command, heading back to Spain following a successful round of treasure hunting. The fleet fell victim to a hurricane and crashed somewhere off the coast of Florida. Their spoils, including the coins, all sank to the bottom of the ocean.

Exactly 300 years later, 101 gold coins were recovered in 2015 by the Schmitt family off of Florida’s aptly named Treasure Coast. The family worked specifically to recover treasure from the Spanish fleet, even naming their LLC the 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels.

However, only 51 of the coins were recorded, leaving the other 50 in limbo.

“While 51 of these coins were reported correctly and adjudicated, 50 coins were not disclosed and were subsequently stolen,” the FWC wrote.

The robbery sparked an FBI investigation into Eric Schmitt, one of the family members responsible for the discovery. The probe specifically looked into “the illegal sale of multiple stolen gold coins between 2023 and 2024.”

“Investigators executed multiple search warrants, recovering coins from private residences, safe deposit boxes and auctions,” the press release noted.

“Five stolen coins were reclaimed from a Florida-based auctioneer, who unknowingly purchased them from Eric Schmitt.”

Schmitt had also apparently taken three of the gold coins that he didn’t report and tossed them back into the ocean “to be found by the new investors of 1715 Fleet – Queens Jewels, LLC.”

Even so, 13 of the coins are still missing. The FWC wrote that finding 37 of them “marks a major milestone in a long-standing investigation into the theft and illegal trafficking of these priceless historical artifacts.”

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