A body found inside a burned-out car is believed to be that of a woman who was carjacked and kidnapped in broad daylight just hours earlier, local police said Friday. Authorities are on the hunt for her suspected killers.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvias, 31, was driving a white Dodge Durango in Winter Springs, Florida, on Friday when she was abducted at gunpoint, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said at a news conference.
A witness caught the terrifying exchange on video. In it, a man wearing dark clothing and a Halloween mask can be seen climbing out of the suspects’ car, a small green Acura, and pointing his gun at Aguasvias through the driver’s side window. He then climbed into the car from the back driver’s side door.
ADVERTISEMENT
Police believe the carjacker then forced Aguasvias to drive to a new location.
“I suspect that where they told her to go is somewhere where they’ve been before, they seemed very familiar with that area down there. I don't think this is randomly, ‘hey pull off the road,’” Lemma said.
Less than two hours later, police were alerted to a burning vehicle at a construction site in nearby Osceola County. They found the body inside, although it and the vehicle were too destroyed to determine whether it was Aguasvias and the white Dodge. Police are awaiting lab tests to confirm Aguasvias’ identity, but they’re confident it is her. Lemma said shell casings found near the charred vehicle matched that of the firearm the suspected kidnapper was carrying.
Lemma told reporters that before the abduction, Aguasvias had noticed the green Acura following her and ramming into her back bumper, which prompted her to call her husband. He told her not to stop, Lemma said, but neither of them called the police. Aguasvias was forced to stop at a red light at an intersection, which is where the suspects pounced.
No motive was given for the kidnapping, but police believe it was a targeted hit.
“We do feel that the occupants of the green Acura, both the driver and at least one other person who got out of the car and entered in the Durango, knew exactly who they were following,” Lemma said.
“There’s no criminal history for either Katherine or her husband in the United States. There’s no clear indicator why somebody would do this, why somebody would target them,” Lemma continued.
Aguasvias, a U.S. citizen living in south Florida and originally from the Dominican Republic, was visiting family in the area, her husband told police. However, police said there were no known family members there they were aware of.
The sheriff said Aguasvias’ vehicle had only been in the area for about an hour before the carjacking.
Police advised the public to be on the lookout for the green Acura, a sedan with a partially obstructed license plate. The suspects are both described as white or Hispanic men.
Police urged anyone with information on the case to contact the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office.
