Woman’s Body Found in Suitcase with Rosary Beads After Boyfriend Sends Troubling Messages
A man has been arrested and charged with murder after the body of a Florida woman was found in a suitcase in another state.
The victim, 29-year-old Carmen Elsa Escalante Carrera, disappeared from her Florida home in late October. Her body was discovered inside a suitcase on the side of a road in Georgia on October 31.
Police say she had been killed by strangulation, and her body was found dismembered, naked, with a power cord around her neck, along with rosary beads. Carrera was a teacher, according to the National Gun Violence Memorial.
The investigation began on October 29 when police were called to the Orlando apartment of Carrera’s boyfriend, 41-year-old Jorge Javier Quintero.
A friend of Quintero’s had received alarming text messages from him and decided to check on him. When the friend entered the apartment, they found a bathtub covered in blood, a bloody knife, and other disturbing evidence.
When police searched the apartment, they found bloody clothes, blood in the bathtub, and notes that appeared to be suicide letters. They also searched another apartment where Carrera and Quintero had planned to move together.
There, police found more blood, including bloody towels and stains on the walls. However, neither Quintero nor Carrera could be found at that time.
On October 31, U.S. Marshals tracked Quintero to Saraland, Alabama. During an encounter with police, Quintero was shot and taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition. Later that same day, police in Georgia made a horrifying discovery. A suitcase containing Carrera’s body was found along a road. An autopsy later confirmed she had been strangled to death.
Quintero was officially arrested on November 25 and charged with first-degree murder. He was also charged with using someone else’s personal identification fraudulently. As of now, it is not clear if Quintero has a lawyer or if he has entered a plea in court.
This case has shocked many, especially since Carrera was a teacher who seemed to have a bright future. Investigators continue to piece together what happened and gather evidence to ensure justice for her tragic death.
