Farel Torres being arrested after fatally stabbing his girlfriend in Florida (Office of the State Attorney 18th Judicial Circuit).
A 38-year-old man in Florida may spend the rest of his life in prison for killing the mother of his children for breaking up with him, then leaving her body on the floor while he took their kids to school.
A Seminole County jury deliberated for just 14 minutes before finding Farel Torres guilty on one count of second-degree murder in the slaying of 34-year-old Vanessa Santiago, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the 18th Judicial Circuit State”s Attorney’s Office, the fatal attack took place on May 29, 2024, inside the couple’s apartment on Winter Woods Boulevard off of State Road 436. That morning, prosecutors say Torres “seemed to prepare” for killing Santiago by grabbing a large “steak knife” from the kitchen drawer and “disabling a security camera in the bedroom.”
Sheriff’s deputies said they responded to the apartment at about 9 a.m., after Torres called 911 and said “he stabbed his girlfriend” and “the knife is in his girlfriend,” adding that she was “beyond help,” a probable cause affidavit says.
Torres was described as “upset” and “crying” while on the line with 911, telling the dispatcher, “I stabbed her in the head,” and “I stabbed her cause I was mad.” Asked where the knife was, Torres replied, “In her head.”
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Medical personnel at the scene pronounced Santiago dead shortly after arriving.
In an interview with police, Torres said he woke up at 6 a.m. that morning and greeted Santiago with a “good morning,” but claimed she was mad at him because the cameras in their bedroom were not working. However, when directly asked what happened to Santiago, police said Torres began crying uncontrollably and was unable to answer additional questions.
During the four-day trial, prosecutors said Torres had intentionally disabled the camera in the couple’s bedroom, where the fatal attack took place, but said footage from other areas of the apartment showed the couple fighting just before the attack.
“Video evidence also showed that Torres and Santiago’s two children were home to hear the fighting and stabbing — and one boy walked in on the act before Torres ushered him out of the room,” prosecutors said. “Santiago was breaking up with him and kicking him out of the apartment that she leased and paid for.”
A forensic search of Santiago’s phone also showed that after he killed her, Torres went back to the apartment and went through Santiago’s social media accounts before copying her credit card information and “transferring funds from her bank account to his.”
At trial, Torres’ defense attorneys sought a lesser charge of manslaughter by arguing that he killed Santiago in “a fit of passion,” but jurors were not swayed by the claim.
Torres is currently scheduled to appear in court for his sentencing hearing on Nov. 5, records show.
