A Florida woman who was carjacked in broad daylight in a tense moment captured on video is presumed dead in a badly burned car.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, of Homestead, was kidnapped at a busy intersection on April 11 just before 6 p.m.
A witness in a car behind her filmed the confrontation with the truck and later called 911.
The footage shows a man wearing a balaclava and a black hoodie getting out of an Acura sedan and approaching the driver’s side of Guerrero’s Dodge Durango, pointing a 10mm handgun at her. When Guerrero unlocks the doors, the man climbs into the rear driver’s side door.
Detectives with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office say the man climbed into the passenger seat before Guerrero drove away, while another man drove behind them in the Acura sedan.
Remains believed to be Guerrero’s were found hours later in a badly charred car, and police continue to search for the suspects in the brutal murder.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, is presumed dead after a kidnapping at a Central Florida intersection on April 11
Video shows a man wearing a skin mask climbing out of a green Acura behind Guerrero’s car and pointing a gun at her before climbing into the rear driver’s side door
Investigators believe the suspect ordered Guerrero to drive to a construction site, where a badly burned vehicle with a body inside was found later that day.
Sheriff Dennis M. Lemma said at a news conference Saturday that he was shocked by the images.
“It’s incredibly frightening to see how boldly this suspect, this perpetrator, gets out of the car, wears a hoodie, carries a weapon in broad daylight and gets into the car,” Lemma said.
In a 911 call released by the sheriff’s office, the witness insists, “You have to do something now, because I don’t know what’s going on.’
Less than two hours after the carjacking, police received reports of gunshots and smoke in Oceola County.
A heavily charred vehicle, believed to be a Dodge Durango, was found at a construction site. Although the body inside has not yet undergone formal DNA identification, police believe it is Guerrero.
A dozen 10mm shell casings and one projectile were also found at the scene.
“There’s no clear indication why anyone would do this,” Lemma said. “But we feel and believe that this was not a random act of violence. The perpetrators knew exactly who they were going after, why they were going after them.’
Guerrero was from the Dominican Republic and an American citizen. She lived with her husband in the Miami suburb of Homestead, where the couple worked in a barber shop and beauty salon.
The carjacking happened just four days before her 32nd birthday.
Investigators believe the 31-year-old was targeted and say her husband told her to keep driving when she told him she was being carjacked
Guerrero had stopped at a red light at the time of the carjacking. Police say another man followed her in the Acura sedan as she drove to the construction site
Guerrero’s husband said she was in the area visiting family, although investigators were unable to identify any relatives in Central Florida.
The 31-year-old was from the Dominican Republic and was a US citizen. She and her husband lived in Homestead and worked in a barber shop and beauty salon
Moments before she stopped at a red light, Guerrero called her husband and told him the Acura was following her and rammed into her SUV, Lemma said. Her husband told her to keep driving.
Investigators believe she was forced to drive to the construction site by the shooter and that the suspect was familiar with the area.
Lemma added that neither Guerrero nor her husband had called the police at the time of the incident.
“There are a lot of unknowns, a lot of things that will have people scratching their heads,” he said.
“Why didn’t she and her husband call 911? Don’t know. Why did she stop at the red light? There are many things we will absolutely never know, but this is still a tragic incident.”
Authorities have not released any further details about the suspects in the case.
Lemma said investigators do not know where Guerrero went.
Her husband told police she was in Central Florida visiting family, although investigators were unable to trace any relatives in the area.
The sheriff noted that Guerrero’s husband has cooperated with law enforcement and has no criminal record in the United States.