A Florida man convicted of murdering his pregnant mistress just days before she was due to give birth found out this week whether he would face life in prison or the death penalty.
Jose Soto-Escalera, 49, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder by a St. Lucie County jury last month for the August 2018 murders of Tania Wise, 23, and her unborn child.
According to a copy of the medical examiner’s report acquired by PEOPLE, post-mortem DNA testing confirmed Soto-Escalera as the father of the unborn newborn boy.
Soto-Escalera appeared to court on October 10 for his sentencing hearing.
Judge Lawrence Mirman condemned Soto-Escalera to death for Wise’s murder, as well as the murder of their unborn child.
That sentence was consistent with the recommendation of the jury, which deliberated after a week-long trial in which they saw crime scene images of Wise’s terrible injuries before her body was discovered abandoned in a ditch on the side of the road.
Wise had suffered serious head and throat damage, according to a copy of the arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
Authorities had another suspect in mind when they began their investigation before focusing on Soto-Escalera.
The probe pivoted after investigators met with a dancer who used to work with Wise at a club in Stuart, which is about 40 miles north of Palm Beach. That former coworker informed authorities that she met Soto-Escalera and that Wise reportedly began sexual encounters with him for money.
“Wise told her before she called Escalera she was pregnant with his baby and needed money for an abortion and if he didn’t give it to her she was going to tell his wife,” the affidavit says. The former coworker informed the investigator that she knew this since Wise contacted Soto-Escalera on speaker phone to have the talk.
According to the affidavit, she also said that Soto-Escalera gave Wise $500 in exchange for an abortion and became enraged when she did not receive one.
Investigators then interrogated Soto-Escalera, who originally denied having a relationship with Wise, claiming that they spent little time together and were only connected because their children were friends.
During the interrogation, he also gave investigators access to his phone, and while he had deleted all of his conversations and texts from the preceding month and week, he had not destroyed his internet search history, according to the affidavit.
“I observed his Google search history on August 23, 2018 at 7:38 p.m. (EST). He searched for “dead body in woods” and “dead body in wooded area.” In the affidavit, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Detective Christopher Newman stated that the suspect clicked on four (4) linked links for the searches.
Investigators then spoke with two people who recalled seeing a truck similar in make and color to Soto-Escalera’s at the crime scene. They later got video evidence of this identical vehicle in the area where Wise’s body was discovered by a bystander.
Soto-Escalera eventually admitted to having sexual intercourse with Wise on one occasion, but he denied having an affair and claimed innocence in her murder.
He filed a not guilty plea at his first court appearance and maintained his innocence during the seven years between Wise’s murder and his conviction.
The jury might possibly convict Soto-Escalera of second-degree murder in the deaths of Wise and her unborn baby, Josiah, whom she wanted to name.
Soto-Escalera remains in the St. Lucie County Jail while awaiting his prison assignment.
