A Florida man accused of killing his missing wife allegedly mailed her identification and credit cards to a relative in the Philippines in an elaborate scheme designed to make it appear she was alive and living abroad, authorities said.
Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Maria Gaminde. Her family has not had confirmed contact with her since January 2024.
Maria’s body has not been recovered. However, investigators searched the couple’s property in DeBary, Florida, on Tuesday after a neighbor reported seeing Gaminde carrying out extensive work behind the home around the time his wife vanished.
Maria’s relatives reported her missing in January 2024 after losing contact with her. By July, they had alerted investigators to suspicious text messages, emails and credit-card transactions that appeared to show Maria communicating and spending money from overseas.
Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the disappearance of his wife, Maria Gaminde. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
“The family starts to contact us and say, ‘Hey, something’s not right. These text messages and emails that we’re getting, the spending on her credit cards, too. Something’s not right,’” Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference Tuesday.
Gaminde told investigators that he and Maria had been experiencing marital problems. He claimed she had left for either the Philippines or Japan.
Detectives reviewed digital and forensic evidence and interviewed neighbors as the case increasingly centered on Gaminde. Chitwood said investigators also learned that Gaminde had previously been arrested twice on domestic-violence allegations.
Maria Gaminde’s family reported her missing in 2024 after losing contact with her and later questioned messages and financial activity that purportedly originated overseas. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
The investigation soon expanded internationally. The FBI assisted Volusia County investigators and prosecutors with legal issues involving other countries before a detective and prosecutor traveled to the Philippines to interview Gaminde’s niece.
An investigator examines an area behind the Gamindes’ DeBary home during a search of the property. Maria Gaminde’s body has not been recovered. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
“She gives up everything,” Chitwood said. “She even gives us more information that the FBI has to work with international partners to recover digital evidence from when it occurred.”
According to the sheriff, Gaminde allegedly emailed his niece Maria’s important documents, including her driver’s license and credit cards, and gave her instructions about what to do with them. Investigators believe the actions were intended to suggest that Maria was alive and deliberately staying out of contact with her family, friends and law enforcement.
Authorities traced Maria’s last confirmed activity to December 2023. Investigators determined that she and her children entered Disney World’s Magic Kingdom on Dec. 16 after confirming that their fingerprints had been used to access the park.
Volusia County investigators search the DeBary, Florida, property where Maria Gaminde lived with her husband, who is now charged with her murder. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
Four days later, Gaminde allegedly texted his wife asking where she was. Communications from Maria then ceased, followed by messages purportedly sent by her from overseas.
Despite those messages and apparent activity on Maria’s accounts, investigators found no evidence that she remained alive.
“There’s no financial trail. There’s nothing that would indicate that Maria is alive,” Chitwood said.
During Tuesday’s search, investigators concentrated on an area behind the home where concrete appeared to have been added. Chitwood stressed that authorities did not know whether the search would lead them to Maria’s remains.
Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde is detained in body-camera footage. Authorities say he was already in custody when a grand jury indicted him in his wife’s murder. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
“We may get lucky, we may not get lucky,” Chitwood said.
Prosecutors said they are prepared to pursue the first-degree murder case even if Maria’s body is never recovered.
R.J. Larizza, state attorney for Florida’s 7th Judicial Circuit, said the outcome of Tuesday’s search would not change the state’s plans to prosecute Gaminde.
Investigators search the property where Maria Gaminde lived in DeBary, Florida, after her husband was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in her disappearance. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
“We’re fully prepared to move forward without the body,” Larizza said. “And I have complete and total confidence in our ability to prosecute this case.”
Gaminde was already in custody after being stopped for allegedly driving without a license when the grand jury returned the murder indictment. He is being held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail and also faces an immigration detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gaminde and Maria came to the United States together around 2008 and have three young sons, the sheriff said. The children were with their father when he was taken into custody and have since been reunited with Maria’s family.
Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde is seen in body-camera footage before his arrest. He was later indicted on a first-degree murder charge in his wife’s disappearance. (Volusia County Sheriff’s Office)
Chitwood said the children had been denied contact with their mother’s side of the family.
Gaminde has been interviewed repeatedly during the investigation, but authorities do not believe the accounts he provided.
“Every interview he has given us has just been a lie,” Chitwood said.
The investigation remains ongoing.