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Farel Torres being arrested after fatally stabbing his girlfriend in Florida (Office of the State Attorney 18th Judicial Circuit).
A Florida man, aged 38, has received a life sentence for the murder of his children’s mother, whom he brutally stabbed in their bedroom after she attempted to end their relationship. Following the tragic incident, he reportedly drove their children to school in a composed manner.
On Wednesday, Seminole County Circuit Judge Melanie Chase sentenced Farel Torres to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, as confirmed by authorities. The decision underscores the severity of the crime, ensuring Torres remains in a state correctional facility for life.
In a swift decision last month, a jury of 12 deliberated for merely 14 minutes before unanimously convicting Torres of second-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Vanessa Santiago.
The harrowing crime occurred on May 29, 2024, within the couple’s apartment located on Winter Woods Boulevard near State Road 436. According to a statement from the 18th Judicial Circuit State’s Attorney’s Office, Torres appeared to have premeditated the attack. He allegedly armed himself with a large steak knife from the kitchen and disabled a bedroom security camera before committing the murder.
Authorities were alerted to the scene around 9 a.m. when Torres called 911, admitting to stabbing Santiago and indicating that the knife remained lodged in her body. He reportedly told dispatchers that she was beyond saving, as detailed in the probable cause affidavit.
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.”
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.