CASSELBERRY, Fla. (TCN) — A 38-year-old man was recently convicted of fatally stabbing his girlfriend, leaving her body on their bedroom floor, and then driving their children to school.
The Florida State Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial Circuit announced Sept. 20 that a jury found Farel Torres guilty of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Vanessa Santiago. He faces up to life in prison and is set to be sentenced on Nov. 5.
According to prosecutors, Torres fatally stabbed Santiago with a steak knife in their apartment on May 29, 2024, and called police hours later “seemingly hysterical,” telling dispatchers, “I stabbed her in the head. I stabbed her ’cause I was mad.”
Torres reportedly told police he “recklessly killed Santiago during an argument.” At trial, prosecutors said the defendant claimed he stabbed his girlfriend in a “fit of passion,” but the state’s attorney’s office said they “presented evidence that Torres maliciously killed Santiago,” and he “seemed to prepare for it by retrieving the knife from a kitchen drawer and disabling a security camera in the bedroom.”
According to the state attorney’s office, jurors watched video evidence from in the apartment that revealed “Torres was desperate and angry at Santiago.” Santiago had reported the defendant to authorities once before for domestic violence, and she was breaking up with him and kicking him out of the home that she rented and paid for.
Torres and Santiago’s two children were home during the incident, and one boy reportedly walked in on them before Torres led him out of the room.
Following the stabbing, Torres reportedly took the children to school before returning home and searching through the victim’s phone, “opening her Instagram account, copying her credit card information, and transferring funds from her bank account to his.” Prosecutors said he then called relatives before calling police.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Torres’ tears were “part of an act.”
In a statement, Seminole County Prosecutor Domenick Leo said, “While there is nothing that can replace the loss of a loved one, it is our hope that obtaining justice for Vanessa will help the healing process for her dear family.”
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