ST. LUCIE COUNTY − Jose Soto-Escalera, 48, was sentenced Oct. 10 to death in connection with the 2018 slayings of Tania Wise, 23, and her unborn child.
Circuit Judge Lawrence Mirman during a 1:30 p.m. hearing at the St. Lucie County courthouse imposed the sentence on Soto-Escalera, who appeared to show little outward reaction as he sat next to two defense attorneys.
After listing a number of potential aggravating factors and mitigating circumstances, Mirman said the former outweigh the latter regarding each murder. Death, he said, is “the appropriate and just sentence” for each victim.
“Therefore, Jose Soto-Escalera, I hereby sentence you to death for the first-degree murder of Tania Wise,” Mirman said. “I also independently sentence you to death for the first-degree murder of her unborn child.”
He becomes the eighth person with ties to the Treasure Coast on Florida’s death row.
Jurors on Sept. 19 found Soto-Escalera guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Wise and guilty of first degree murder of an unborn child in connection with the death of her unborn baby. Jurors voted 8-4 Sept. 25 that Soto-Escalera should be sentenced to death.
What happened?
Wise’s body was discovered Aug. 24, 2018 along Russo Road near Johnston Road, a largely rural area in northern St. Lucie County.
Soto-Escalera was arrested Sept. 21, 2018, following what then Sheriff Ken Mascara said was a complex case. At the time, Mascara said Soto-Escalera was married and his wife was unaware of Wise and the unborn child. Soto-Escalera denied having sex with Wise and gave a DNA sample. However, DNA from the unborn child showed Soto-Escalera was the father.
Mirman on Oct. 10 said Soto-Escalera drove a garbage truck for a living and “his days of planning and plotting were caught on audio and video,” noting the trucking company installed recording devices on the truck for liability purposes. His nephew was his working companion on the truck.
“As reflected in the recordings, he told his nephew that Tania Wise was going to destroy his life by exposing their illicit affair and the resulting pregnancy, to the defendant’s wife,” Mirman said. “Well in advance of her murder, he chose a location to kill her and dispose of her body.”
He noted Wise, in very late stages of pregnancy, sustained “a significant blunt trauma blow to her skull, fracturing it and causing internal injury to her brain.”
“Her throat had been cut. There were two deep lacerations on her neck going right down to the bone,” he said. “The medical examiner could not specify the sequence of the injuries. Therefore, the degree to which Tania experienced terror from this horrific murder could not be proven.”
A witness said Soto-Escalera gave Wise $500 for an abortion. The witness said she saw text messages between Wise and a former boyfriend indicating Wise gave the money to the former boyfriend instead of terminating the pregnancy.
Another witness told investigators that “Escalera had confided Wise was blackmailing Escalera over Wise’s pregnancy with Escalera,” an affidavit states.
‘Always there for her family’
Wise’s aunt, Jaritza Irizarry, 45, of Fellsmere, said after the sentencing that God made His decision regarding justice. She said justice has been served, but it doesn’t bring closure.
“It’s sad because we don’t really have justice … Tania’s not here with us, neither is Josiah (her unborn son),” Irizarry said.
She said Wise was an amazing person.
“Not only because she was my niece, I mean, she always brought sunlight wherever,” Irizarry said. “She was always there for her family.”
Assistant State Attorney Donald Richardson said he thought the sentence was appropriate under the law.
“The case was just horrific in nature, and given the amount of aggravators that we had and how weighty they were, I’m not surprised by his decision, particularly as a reflection of the jury’s verdict,” Richardson said.
Defense attorney Thomas Burns said he wasn’t happy with the sentence, but noted Mirman “gave plenty of reasons.”
(This story was updated with more information, video, photos)
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jose Soto-Escalera sentenced to death for killing Tania Wise and their unborn child
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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