A married Florida man accused of giving his pregnant lover $500 for an abortion and then murdering her weeks before she was due to give birth is set to go on trial.
Jose Soto-Escalera, 48, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, seven years after the body of Tania Wise, 23, was discovered on the side of a country road on Aug. 24, 2018.
As the investigation progressed, investigators learned more about Soto-Escalera and Wise’s communications in the months preceding the alleged murder.
According to an arrest report reviewed by Law&Crime, police stated that Wise informed Soto-Escalera that she was pregnant with his child and “needed money for abortion.” According to the arrest report, Wise warned that if she did not receive the money from Soto-Escalera, she would notify his wife.
A witness who was with Wise when she called Soto-Escalera to tell him she was pregnant with his child and needed money for an abortion spoke with detectives, according to police.
After Soto-Escalera agreed to pay for the abortion, Wise hung up the phone and told the witness that “if she used Jose’s wife against him, she could get anything she wanted.” According to the affidavit, Soto-Escalera’s wife was unaware that he and Wise were having a sexual relationship.
Soto-Escalera and Wise met later that day, and the defendant allegedly gave her $500 for an abortion. But, according to a witness who spoke with police, Wise did not have the abortion and instead gave the money to someone else.
Another witness told police that three days before Wise’s body was discovered, they spoke with Soto-Escalera, who was “mad because Wise ‘played him'” by not using the money to get an abortion. Soto-Escalera also allegedly inquired with the witness about finding a “dirty gun.”
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In an interview with police after Wise’s body was discovered, Soto-Escalera allegedly stated that he had never had sex with Wise, but that she stripped for him. During his interview, he consented to a DNA test and let his cellphone be searched.
When the DNA test results came back, police confirmed that Soto-Escalera was the father of Wise’s unborn son. Wise’s family named the baby Josiah.
According to cellphone data, Soto-Escalera and Wise spoke several times on August 23, the night before her body was discovered. His cellphone allegedly pinged at the scene where Wise’s body was discovered the next day.
Soto-Escalera’s cellphone records also revealed what prosecutors believe were incriminating Google searches conducted hours before Wise’s body was discovered, including searches for “dead body in woods” and “wooded area dead body,” police said. According to authorities, the defendant also clicked on four related links found during those searches.
According to local CW affiliate WTVX, prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Soto-Escalera. His trial began on Wednesday, with jury selection.
