Florida man found guilty of 2018 murder of his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn son
On Friday, September 19, a Florida jury found Jose Antonio Soto Escalera guilty of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2018 killing of 23-year-old girlfriend, Tania Esther Wise, and her unborn son. The jury rendered its verdict following just over an hour of deliberation. Escalera Soto was the biological father of the unborn baby he killed, along with the baby’s mother.
The guilty verdicts mark a significant step toward justice, coming seven years after Wise’s body was discovered on August 24, 2018, along Russo Road near Johnston Road in a rural area of Ft. Pierce in St. Lucie County. A passerby spotted her lying face-down and called 911 around 10:50 a.m.
Esther Wise was just a week away from delivering her baby via a scheduled cesarean section. Instead, she was found to have died from a combination of blunt force trauma to the head and sharp force injuries to the neck. An autopsy revealed her throat had been slit.
Escalera, now 48, of Port St. Lucie, was arrested on September 21, 2018, following an investigation by the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities later confirmed through DNA testing that Escalera was the father of the unborn child. At the time of Wise’s murder, Escalera was married to another woman.
Prosecutors contended Soto-Escalera killed Wise so his wife would not find out that he and the victim were involved in a relationship, according to WPTV.
“I want to personally thank State Attorney Thomas Bakkedahl of the Nineteenth Judicial Circuit, along with prosecutors Donald Richardson and Justin Cormier, for their tireless efforts in bringing this case to a successful prosecution,” said Sheriff Del Toro. “I also want to commend the men and women of the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office who worked diligently on this investigation. Their dedication helped secure justice for Tania Wise and her unborn son.”
Jurors will return to the courtroom on September 24 to begin the penalty phase – a secondary trial to decide whether Escalera will receive the death penalty or life in prison.
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(Source and Jose Antonio Soto Escalera booking photo: St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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