MIAMI (AP) — A South Florida man faces a mandatory life sentence for killing his estranged wife.
The Miami-Herald reports that jurors found 58-year-old Jesus Maqueira guilty Monday of first-degree murder. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 19.
Authorities say Raquel Calderin disappeared after leaving her job as a school custodian in September 2012. The mother of three had left Maqueira and filed for divorce. The newspaper reports that Maqueira had mocked Miami-Dade police detectives at the time, saying there was little they could do without a body.
But authorities found Calderin’s skeleton in 2014. Her remains were in an SUV at the bottom of a canal near the Everglades. Prosecutors say cell phone records placed Maqueira with Calderin when she vanished and near the location where her body was eventually found.
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.