DANIA BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Police have charged 37-year-old Jimmy Joseph Torres with the murder of his wife, 33-year-old Maribel Torres.
According to police, Maribel’s father reported her missing on April 23 after he suspected foul play on the part of her husband.
In an arrest report, Maribel’s father said he was told by the suspect that Maribel had run away after she told him she was pregnant with another man’s child.
Detectives later found out that the last time Maribel’s family had seen her was in November.
Ultimately, detectives said they got a break in the case when a witness told investigators that Torres had confessed to hitting his wife on the head with a metal pipe, knocking her out.
“These detectives, they identified a witness that provided some information in this case. Coupled with all of the evidence, proved to be very useful,” said Miami-Dade Police Lt. Juan Villalba.
Detectives said Torres then dragged his wife’s body outside, put her in a box, and dumped the body in a Dania Beach canal, where the couple would often spend time together.
Investigators later discovered human remains inside a box.
“They came this morning at 3 o’clock to knock on my dad’s door to tell my dad that they found her,” said the victim’s sister, Mabel Montesino.
Montesino believed that her sister’s disappearance was suspicious from the start, because she had already spent money planning for future family occasions.
“She went missing in November she had her daughter’s birthday party in may already paid for,” Montesino said as she fought back tears. “She had already bought all their Christmas gifts. What mother that is going to disappear does all this planning? My sister was already planning her [daughter’s] 15. Now she’s never going to be able to celebrate.”
Police said the remains have not been officially identified. However, officers arrested Torres on Thursday and charged him with second-degree murder.
Torres is currently being held without bond.
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