The case was super confusing to me, so I just watched the last two press conferences and made notes. It helped me, so I thought it might also help someone else.
April 15, 2024
THE ACURA
December 2023: the original owner sold (or traded in) the car to a dealership
- the car was then sold at auction to a Buy Here, Pay Here owner-operator
- the owner-operator then sold it on their car lot in Seminole County
- the Acura was still titled to the original owner in Winter Springs when it was sold by the owner-operator because there hadn’t been enough time to work out the transfer of title paperwork
- the new owner never returned to finish filling out the title paperwork
- the car
had been on the streets since probably February, unregistered and undocumented without a license plate; any temporary plates on the car were probably stolen
- only (3) 2002 green Acuras were on record in the state of Florida; (2) had been salvaged, which left only (1) in the state
March 19, 2024: the Acura was towed from an Orlando apartment complex because it was backed in and parked illegally
April 10, 2024: the tow truck driver of this particular vehicle was murdered in Orange County one day before the kidnapping and murder of Katherine
- at the scene of the tow truck driver shooting, a vehicle matching the description of the green Acura was seen and more than 100 rounds were fired; many of the rounds were 10mm
- the murder of the tow truck driver is being investigated by the Orange County Sheriff's Office (OCSO) and they've partnered with Seminole County to connect the dots between the two crimes
April 18, 2024: the green Acura was towed after it was abandoned in another Orange County apartment complex; it was towed by a contractual tow service and that’s how the VIN was identified by LE (as it was the only 2002 green Acura in FL)
- when the tow service entered the VIN into the system as being parked illegally, LE was notified and the car was picked up by the OCSO to be evaluated for evidence by Orange County and Seminole County
ORANGE COUNTY DEPUTY ARREST
April 14, 2024: Francisco Estrella was arrested by Seminole County
- after the carjacking, LE called the number on the back of the white Dodge Durango Katherine was driving and her husband Miguel answered; that’s when they disclosed to him that they were working on a kidnapping case
- Miguel and Katherine’s brother Louis provided LE with information over the phone and agreed to travel to Seminole County from Homestead
- while in route to Seminole County, Miguel and Louis reached out to a mutual childhood friend who happens to be the wife of an Orange County deputy
- the OCSO deputy reached out to the lead Seminole County detective working this case under a false name and identified himself as an OCSO detective seeking information
- additionally, the OCSO deputy and his wife illegally accessed the Florida David (DMV) system and pulled up unique characteristics – home address, photographs, signatures – about the lead detective and all of the communication between the deputy and the detective was recorded and communicated back to the husband Miguel (as he was traveling to Seminole County to speak with the detective)
- Miguel has been cooperative and has provided information to the extent that he feels comfortable about what was going on on Friday
- Miguel agreed to hand over his phone to be forensically examined and that’s how LE learned about the communications with the OCSO deputy/friend
- the OCSO deputy has been charged with 5 felonies in Seminole County: (2) recording and releasing the audio file of his conversation with the detective, (2) unlawfully accessing a police database, (1) the use of a two-way communication device during the commission of a felony
- the Seminole County detective was immediately suspicious about the deputy’s fishing expedition and provided next to no information
OTHER INFO
- they have located two family members of Katherine’s that live in the area – one in Volusia County and one in Osceola – but neither were expecting a visit from Katherine and she wasn’t anywhere close to their homes
- there’s no evidence Katherine had ever been to Seminole County before that day, and they believe she was targeted and followed
- although the husband is being cooperative, LE believes he knows more than he’s sharing; Miguel is NOT considered a person of interest
APRIL 19, 2024
GIOVANY JOEL CRESPO HERNANDEZ (last person to communicate with Katherine before the carjacking)
- a FaceTime communication occurred around 4:00 pm when Katherine was likely in the area of downtown Orlando on I-4
- Katherine’s brother Louis voluntarily provided his phone for forensic examination and it was discovered that he was conducting his own independent investigation
- Louis located the last person Katherine communicated with by using a computer connected to her iCloud account and called that person
- Louis took a screenshot of the person – whom LE later identified as Giovany – and sent a cropped image of the screenshot to Seminole County detectives
- the forensic examination of Louis’s phone uncovered a larger picture of Giovany that revealed the screenshot came from a FaceTime conversation Louis had with Giovany
- LE determined Giovany’s identity by running the image through a facial recognition database
- Giovany resides with his girlfriend Soto (last name) in Castlebury
- LE obtained a search warrant of the home in Castlebury, where they located fentanyl and a gun (not a 10mm and likely not related to this crime)
- While conducting the search warrant, LE was contacted by their federal partners at HSI and were informed that Giovany’s girlfriend Soto had just accepted a delivery of 3 kilos of cocaine sent via USPS
- USPS intercepted it, a delivery was made in Osceola County, and Soto collected the delivery; Soto was then arrested on federal charges and is currently incarcerated in Osceola County on a federal hold
- Giovany is facing Seminole County charges of trafficking fentanyl and LE asks for the public’s help locating him
JORDANISH TORRES GARCIA (matches the description of the carjacking suspect)
- the Buy Here, Pay Here owner-operator who purchased the green Acura at auction marketed the vehicle on Facebook Marketplace; a person with the profile name Jordan LaTroy reached out and ultimately showed up at the dealership to purchase the green Acura
- the profile photo of the account used to communicate with the dealership was taken in January and appears to depict a male wearing the exact same clothing as the carjacker
- a backtrack of the phone number provided with the purchase of the Acura links to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office burglary report of someone with the name of Jordanish Torres Garcia (again, the name on the FB profile was Jordan LaTroy)
- Jordan is 28 years old, had an active felony warrant for weapons possession, and was brought into custody with the assistance of the US Marshals; he is now being interviewed in connection with this crime
- Seminole County is now identifying Jordan as a strong person of interest, he’s being held on federal charges, and this investigation will continue (they are still waiting on the toll photographs and subpoenaed records)
OTHER INFO
- LE still doesn't know the identity of the other occupant in the green Acura
- the information Louis provided to LE was less than forthcoming
- Louis and Miguel are not suspects at this time
- according to her brother Louis, Giovany told him that Katherine was in Central Florida to deliver “money and other stuff” for a friend
- LE is still searching for Giovany Joel Crespo Hernandez
- the connection between Jordan and Katherine has not yet been established, but LE
has established a clear connection between Louis and Giovany