New plea deal revealed in deadly Seminole County carjacking case

Husband of victim in deadly carjacking victim to plead guilty

Federal prosecutors have revealed that Miguel Aguasvivas has agreed to plead guilty to money laundering. Authorities said his wife, Katherine Aguasvivas, was carjacked and killed last year as a result of his actions. Officials said Katherine was involved in her husband's alleged drug operation, transporting drug money from South Florida to Central Florida. Four additional suspects have been indicted in the case.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Federal prosecutors have revealed that Miguel Aguasvivas has agreed to plead guilty to money laundering. Authorities said his wife, Katherine Aguasvivas, was carjacked and killed last year as a result of his actions.

New Developments:

Miguel Aguasvivas, the husband of Katherine Aguasvivas, has agreed to plead guilty to money laundering in connection with her death.

Katherine Altagracia Guerrero De Aguasvivas, 31, was carjacked on April 11, 2024 in Winter Springs, Florida. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Federal prosecutors allege that Katherine was carjacked and killed as a result of her involvement in her husband's drug operation. She had traveled from South Florida to Central Florida to pick up drug money. Four other suspects have been indicted in the case, and Miguel Aguas-Vivas is scheduled for a court hearing on Friday in Orlando.

The backstory:

Katherine Aguasvivas was carjacked and killed last year in Seminole County. Federal investigators later connected her death to her husband’s drug operation, with Katherine allegedly helping to transport drug money. The case has escalated with multiple suspects being indicted, and Miguel Aguas-Vivas has now reached a plea deal on charges of money laundering.

Who are the primary suspects?

Four suspects were arrested in the months that followed, including Jordanish Torres-Garcia, 28; Kevin Ocasio-Justiniano, 27; Giovany Crespo Hernandez, 27; and Dereck Alexis Rodriguez Bonilla, 21.

Jordanish Torres-Garcia was federally charged with carjacking resulting in death. The charges came after he was arrested on an unrelated warrant from a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Torres-Garcia was the first person federally charged in the carjacking death. Detectives said he was linked to the crime when law enforcement discovered his connection to the purchase of a green Acura that reportedly followed and bumped Guerrero De Aguasvivas' car before the carjacking. Torres-Garcia was arrested on April 19 on a warrant for a weapons-related crime in Puerto Rico.

Kevin Ocasio Justiniano was arrested in Puerto Rico on April 22, 2024. He is facing charges of possession of an automatic weapon and drug trafficking. He will be extradited to Central Florida. (Photo: Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Ocasio-Justiniano was linked to the investigation through a red Toyota Corolla that was seen in the same apartment complex where the green Acura was found abandoned after the carjacking. Surveillance video showed the Corolla arriving at the apartment complex to pick up the occupants of the green Acura, who appeared to be cleaning up the car and wiping it down. A records check of the Corolla came back to a relative of Ocasio-Justiniano. Authorities also believe Ocasio-Justiniano was the driver of the green Acura involved in the carjacking. Court documents also allege that Ocasio-Justiniano was recruited by Torres-Garcia to participate in the carjacking. On the day of Guerrero De Aguasvivas' death, investigators said they obtained surveillance footage from a gas station that showed both Ocasio-Justiniano and Torres-Garcia buying lighter fluid. This lighter fluid would eventually be poured on Guerrero De Aguasvivas' body in the moments before her death, the documents said.

Giovany Crespo Hernandez, a person of interest in the carjacking case involving Katherine Aguasvivas, was taken into custody on unrelated drug charges in Seminole County on April 22, 2024. (Photo: Seminole County Jail)

Crespo Hernandez was identified as a person of interest early on in the investigation due to the fact that he was the last person to speak to Guerrero De Aguasvivas on the day of her carjacking and death. Federal court documents reveal that it was his idea to carjack and rob the woman in the first place. A search warrant was executed on Crespo Hernandez's home in Casselberry, which yielded the discovery of fentanyl, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, nearly $14,000 in cash, drug packaging materials, two guns, magazines, ammunition and ski masks, according to an arrest affidavit. Crespo Hernandez was taken into custody on April 22 on these drug charges.

Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla was indicted for carjacking resulting in death on June 6, 2024. (Seminole County Sheriff's Office)

Rodriguez Bonilla was recruited into the alleged conspiracy to carjack and rob Guerrero De Aguasvivas by Torres Garcia, according to court documents. Prosecutors say that on the day of the carjacking, Rodriguez Bonilla allegedly provided a 10mm firearm – what feds call the "murder weapon" – to Ocasio-Justiniano. Investigators said this was the gun that was used to kill Guerrero De Aguasvivas.

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