Deadly Florida carjacking victim's father speaks out: 'A big hit to our family
The father of a woman killed following a carjacking caught on camera in Florida is remembering her while investigators still search for the people responsible.
Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, of Homestead, was carjacked Thursday at a busy Winter Springs intersection. Video captured by a witness showed a man dressed in a black hoodie and mask approaching the driver's side of the white 2017 Dodge Durango she was driving, displaying a weapon and then getting in the backseat. The Durango was closely followed by a green Acura, identified as the suspects' vehicle, as the two made a U-turn before the video ended.
Aguasvivas' body is believed to have been inside a burned SUV in Osceola County, but positive identification from the Medical Examiner's Office has yet to be made. The suspects are still on the loose.
"It was a big hit to our family because she always took care of all of us," her father said in Spanish to a local Miami TV station, according to its partner WKMG-TV. "She never had problems with anyone."
Aguasvivas was a U.S. citizen originally from the Dominican Republic and the mother of a 6-year-old girl. Her father described her as "studious, obedient" and said she "always worried about us."
Aguasvivas' father said she lived with her husband, was healthy and had a lot of friends. He recounted finding out about what happened.
SUSPECTS ON LOOSE AFTER CARJACKING CAUGHT ON VIDEO, WOMAN'S REMAINS FOUND IN BURNED SUV
"I found my wife crying, and the neighbor communicated what had happened. And that is when we found out about the situation," he said. He asked anyone with information about what happened to his daughter to come forward.
"Cooperate so that there is clarity with everything because today it was my daughter and tomorrow it can be the daughter of another citizen," he said. "God gave us life and in a moment can take it. We are trying to be strong to be able to go through this situation and ask people to pray and ask God so that there is clarity and for God to protect the children of other human beings that remain here on Earth."
During the most recent press conference on the investigation on Monday, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said Aguasvivas's husband has been cooperating with authorities during their investigation, but he thinks the man is holding back information. Still, Lemma said the husband is not a person of interest or a suspect.