Homestead woman’s carjacking death unveils tangled web of drugs and murder beyond Florida
For close to three weeks, the circumstances surrounding the fatal ambushing of a Homestead woman by a masked gunman at an intersection in a Central Florida neighborhood of manicured lawns and pool homes has remained shrouded in mystery.
The series of events — and twisting threads — have evolved almost as if penned in a crime novel, captivating sleuths and true-crime connoisseurs around the world. It all began with cellphone footage
taken on April 11 by a motorist who witnessed the attack while stopped at a red light at East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road in Seminole County.
A man, covered from head to toe in black, was caught on video pointing a semiautomatic rifle at the driver’s-side door of 31-yearold Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas’ white Dodge Durango. The carjacker then opened the rear driver’s-side door and hopped into the SUV.
The Durango made a U-turn as soon as the light turned green. Hours later, Guerrero De Aguasvivas would be found shot to death inside her torched Durango at a
Osceola County construction site.
Many questions emerged; few answers followed.
Why was Guerrero De Aguasvivas in Central Florida? Was the carjacking targeted or random? Was the Homestead woman involved in something sinister?
From the start of the investigation, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma turned to the media, divulging details on leads and offering thorough updates in frequent news conferences. One of the first major breaks: a green 2002 Acura, the only such make and model in that color in Florida.