MICHAEL and THALIA OTTO (and Mother Yessenia Suarez) - 8 and 9 yo - / Charged: Stepfather, Luis Toledo - Deltona, FL

Posted: 9:28 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013
   
Sheriff's Office: Missing Deltona woman, children dead

DELTONA, Fla. —




The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said a woman and her two young children who disappeared earlier this week are dead, but their bodies have not yet been recovered.

Yessenia Suarez and her children, 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, were considered endangered under suspicious circumstances after family members reported them missing Tuesday night.

The Sheriff's Office said the search for the victims' bodies and the investigation into their deaths is still ongoing.

Channel 9 has learned Suarez's husband, Luis Toledo, 31, was named a person of interest in the case, but authorities said no charges have been filed.

On Thursday, Yessenia Suarez's family spoke at a news conference begging for her and the children's safe return.

"Please, if anyone see my grandchildren, please, and my daughter, turn them to me, please. If anyone see my grand(children) and my daughter, please," said Suarez's mother, Felicia Perez.

Perez called the Sheriff's Office on Wednesday morning and asked for deputies to conduct a well-being check on the 28-year-old at her Covent Gardens Place home in Deltona. When Volusia sheriff's deputies responded to the Deltona address, Suarez and her children were not there.

On Thursday, investigators from Volusia County crossed jurisdictions to pull potential evidence out of a set of dumpsters in Sanford.

Family members said the last time Yessenia's family had seen her was Tuesday evening. They called her cellphone, but said it went straight to voicemail.

Authorities said one of Yessenia's two vehicles was found by Lake Mary police at a Publix parking lot, but there was no sign of her or her children.

Authorities are calling the disappearance suspicious because they said Suarez, a former worker and current student at Rollins College, had been the victim of domestic violence in Lake Mary on Tuesday.

Dozens of cars line the street where the parents of Yessenia Suarez live, just one block from an active crime scene at their daughter's home.

Everyone was offering condolences for a family mourning the loss of Suarez and her children.

"We thought maybe she'd be at a girlfriend's or something like that and that this would all be over, and I think for that family it's just now starting," neighbor Teresa O'Neil said.

Channel 9 has learned Toledo and Suarez had been talking about separating and that Toledo was angry over some text messages he found on his wife's phone.

That's when he showed up at American K-9 Detection Services, where he confronted Suarez and allegedly slapped her.

Witnesses said Toledo was calm when he left the business Tuesday. But when investigators told him over the phone that he could face charges for slapping his wife, they said Toledo got angry and hung up on them.

Suarez's family said the three went missing just hours later.

Authorities said Toledo arrived at the house a short time later and was subsequently arrested based on Lake Mary Police Department's battery charge from the previous day.

He was booked into the Volusia County Jail in Daytona Beach.

"They've been arguing for the past two weeks," Brandon Haught with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said. "After a domestic violence situation, and then to be out of contact with your own family for quite a while, does raise those suspicions."

"It's really hitting hard and for me and my wife, it's been a nightmare and this nightmare hasn't ended," said Ruben Perez, Suarez's stepfather.

Reporter Karla Ray found Toledo had ties to the notorious Latin Kings gang, which is known across the country for violent crime, authorities said.

Channel 9 learned Toledo was arrested on attempted murder charges 13 years ago, but those charges were eventually dropped before he went to trial.

Toledo was accused of luring a woman to a South Orange County apartment complex near Orange Blossom Trail, where she told investigators she saw three unknown men approaching her, one carrying a baseball bat.

The woman said the men had bandanas covering their faces and that they started to beat her up while Toledo repeated, "You set me up."

The 39-year-old victim told investigators at the time she noticed a plastic bag in the back pocket of Toledo's pants. She said it was later put over her head as she was being beaten.

The victim went on to say she felt a cord wrapped around her neck and that she had to tear through the bag to breathe.

Anyone with information about Suarez and her children is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 386-736-5999.


Video: Investigators say missing mother, children are dead

Video: Luis Toledo accused of violent past

Raw: Sheriff's press conf. on Deltona mother, children's deaths

Raw: Family begs for return of missing mother, children

Photos: Pictures of Deltona mom, children
View Larger 

View Larger 

Missing Suarez - Authorities in front of home

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/search-underway-missing-endangered-deltona-mother-/nbXD8/

Raw: Sheriff's press conf. on Deltona mother, children's deaths



http://www.wftv.com/videos/news/raw-sheriffs-press-conf-on-deltona-mother/vCGfqh/

Florida husband 'person of interest' in disappearance of wife, 2 kids: sheriff


The Volusia County Sheriff says investigators found Yessinia Suarez's abandoned car in a Publix parking lot. The young mom was the victim of domestic violence at her job before she and her two children were discovered missing, authorities say. The search continues for the Deltona woman along with daughter Thalia Otto and son Michael Otto. Suarez's spouse, Luis Toledo, is in jail on battery charges.


Published: Thursday, October 24, 2013, 11:06 AM
Updated: Thursday, October 24, 2013, 2:26 PM
Florida investigators are now looking at a Florida man in the disappearance of his young wife and her two kids.
Luis Toledo, 31, showed up at Yessinia Suarez's job and battered her in the parking lot on Tuesday, authorities said. It was one of the last times anyone saw the 28-year-old mother of two.

Now Toledo is a "person of interest" as the search for Suarez and her children continues.

The Volusia County sheriff initially called Suarez’s disappearance “suspicious” and said she and her children could be in danger. On Thursday, authorities revealed another grim sign of trouble: They found her abandoned car in the parking lot of a Publix grocery store in Lake Mary, Fla.

Volusia County Jail
Luis Toledo of Deltona, Fla., was held on a battery charge as authorities searched for his missing wife and her two children.

Cops had responded on Tuesday for a domestic violence call at American K-9 Detection Services where Suarez worked, a sheriff’s spokesman told the Daily News.

Toledo attacked Suarez in the parking lot but fled before officers arrived, the spokesman said.

Suarez’s worried relatives said they last heard from her that evening. When she didn’t answer her cellphone Wednesday morning, they asked deputies to check on her.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office
Michael Otto, 8, is missing along with his mom and sister.

No one was home at her house in Deltona when deputies arrived, but Toledo soon showed up.

They took him into custody on a battery charge from Tuesday’s confrontation.
Toledo was held without bond in the county jail.



Volusia County Sheriff's Office
Thalia Otto, 9, is missing along with her mother and little brother.

The sheriff’s office put out an alert for Suarez and her 8-year-old son Michael Otto and daughter Thalia Otto, 9.

Family members were distraught.

"We don't know what to think,” Suarez’s relative Jose Velazquez told WFTV.

“We're waiting to see if she calls or appears. We don't want to think the worst. They are worried. Her mom is crying a lot."

The sheriff considers the petite mom and her kids “missing and endangered” and has asked the public pass on any tips.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/fla-woman-2-kids-disappear-attack-husband-sheriff-article-1.1495216#ixzz2ihjnQ8Rg

"Toledo attacked Suarez in the parking lot but fled before officers arrived, the spokesman said."     From NYDAILY News (above article)

                                          OR

"that Toledo was angry over some text messages he found on his wife's phone.

That's when he showed up at American K-9 Detection Services, where he confronted Suarez and allegedly slapped her.

Witnesses said Toledo was calm when he left the business Tuesday. But when investigators told him over the phone that he could face charges for slapping his wife, they said Toledo got angry and hung up on them."  WFTV (from above article)

So which reporter do you think is worthy of being called a "journalist" and which one a "rag-writer"?

Is there no integrity anymore, anywhere?

Husband of missing mom, kids attempts suicide
Luis Toledo attempted suicide in jail

Published On: Oct 26 2013 01:07:51 PM EDT
Updated On: Oct 26 2013 05:39:43 PM EDT

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. -

Volusia County investigators said Luis Toledo, the person of interest for missing mother Yessenia Suarez, attempted to kill himself Saturday morning.

Toledo was at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Operations Center, 1330 Indian Lake Road, Daytona Beach, talking with investigators Saturday morning.

Deputies said Toledo was permitted to use the bathroom with a deputy guarding him.

Toledo forced the doorway shut, smashed the mirror and used the mirror shards to attempt suicide by cutting himself, deputies said.

Deputies were able to quickly access the room and secure Toledo, officials said.

Toledo's injuries were determined to be non life-threatening and he was transported by EVAC ambulance to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach for treatment for his cuts at about 11:30 a.m., Saturday, officials said.

Toledo is being considered a person of interest in the disappearance of Yessenia Suarez and their two children on Tuesday.

Watch Local 6 and stay with ClickOrlando.com for updates on this story.

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/husband-of-missing-mom-kids-attempts-suicide/-/1637132/22648716/-/10mx5xb/-/index.html

Take his sheets away too!

Let him kill himself. God will judge him for taking children's lives. Saves the tax payer on trial too. William

Authorities halt ground search for missing Deltona woman and 2 children
The family of Yessenia Suarez to speak at Deltona home this morning

By Arelis Hernandez, Orlando Sentinel
10:50 a.m. EDT, October 28, 2013

The ground search for Deltona mother Yessenia Suarez and her two children — whom detectives say are dead — was halted Monday.

Volusia County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gary Davidson said investigators are taking a "temporary" break from the search.

"They'll be brainstorming today, going back over investigative notes and information and leads to determine the next steps in the investigation and search," Davidson said.

Meanwhile, Sanford police had no new details to release Monday about the remains that were found near State Road 417 over the weekend. Investigators have previously said the remains are an adult but likely not Suarez as they were too decomposed.

Police spokeswoman Shannon Cordingly said it could be several days before detectives hear back from the Medical Examiner's Office on who the remains belong to.

The family of Yessenia Suarez is expected to speak with reporters this morning.

Though the bodies have not been found, Volusia County deputies confirmed late Thursday that Suarez and her children, 9-year-old Thalia and 8-year-old Michael Otto, are dead — although they would not say what led them to that conclusion.

Suarez's husband, Luis Toledo, remains locked in the Volusia County Branch Jail facing a charge of domestic battery. He's accused of slapping his wife Tuesday during an argument at her place of work, a Lake Mary company.

She was reported missing shortly thereafter.

Authorities describe Toledo as a "person of interest" in the murder case.

Some family on Friday said they were holding out hope that the 28-year-old mother and her children would be found alive.

"Until the bodies are found, I won't believe it," said Suarez's uncle Jose Cintron of Tampa.

Neighbors on Friday set up chairs and a couch in the Deltona driveway of Suarez's mother, Felicita Perez, and throughout the day, church and family members visited bringing food and words of comfort.

The search for the bodies continued throughout the weekend.

It's not clear what drew Suarez, a working mother who also attended Rollins College, to Toledo, a former Orlando-area gang member with a violent history. The couple had been married for nearly three years but had been discussing a separation, records show.

Toledo went to state prison for taking part in an armed home invasion in Broward County, according to state and prosecution records. He also went to jail in Volusia County for shooting his gun toward a victim, an incident in which no one was hurt.

And he was arrested but later cleared on charges that he and other gang members gave a baseball-bat beating to a woman whom they also choked with a plastic bag in Orange County.

All of those incidents happened between 1997 and 2000 when Toledo was 15 to 19 years old and in a period during which he told deputies he was a member of a gang called the Latin Kings.

He was released from state prison in 2008 after serving four years for two sets of crimes — the Broward County home invasion and an Orange County burglary. Until earlier this week, had not been rearrested for a violent crime in Florida.

Information about him, except for his criminal record, is hard to come by. According to records at the Volusia County Jail, his mother and father are dead.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-deltona-woman-kids-dead-family-speaks-20131028,0,3855886.story

Luis Toledo charged with murder in case of missing mother and children
Bodies of Yessenia Suarez, children not found

UPDATED 5:59 AM EDT Oct 29, 2013

DELTONA, Fla. —The husband of a woman who went missing with her two children has been charged with second-degree murder, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday night.

Investigators said 28-year-old Yessenia Suarez and her two children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Otto, 8, are dead. Blood was found in the home, but their bodies have not been found.

Luis Toledo has been charged in his wife’s death, but he has implicated someone else in the deaths of the children, and he has not yet been charged with killing them, deputies said. He will face a judge on the murder charge on Tuesday afternoon.

Deputies said Toledo, who said he is trained in martial arts, admitted to striking his wife in the throat with an open hand Tuesday night, killing her.

The search for Suarez and her children began after her mother asked for a well-being check at their home on Covent Gardens Place in Deltona on Wednesday.

A family member said Suarez had been talking about leaving Toledo, and the two had fights that were never reported to law enforcement. Toledo arrived at her work in Lake Mary on Tuesday to confront her and a co-worker she had been seeing. He hit her and then fled before police could arrive, deputies said.

When investigators questioned Toledo, he initially told them he argued with his wife at 10 p.m. Tuesday, then he left the house for an hour, returning to sleep in his car in the driveway. He said when he woke up at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Suarez and the children were gone.

But deputies said they caught him in a lie after a neighbor told them he helped Toledo drop off his wife’s car in Lake Mary at 6 a.m. Wednesday.

Toledo was arrested on a domestic battery charge from the incident at Suarez's workplace and held in jail as investigators built their case. Over the weekend, he attempted suicide by trying to cut himself with a broken mirror at the Volusia County Sheriff's Office's Operations Center, deputies said.

On Monday night, investigators met with Suarez's family to tell them of the arrest.

Family members told WESH 2 News earlier Wednesday that they have been frustrated with the search efforts.

http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/luis-toledo-arrested-monday-evening/-/11788162/22682494/-/p8k1bdz/-/index.html#ixzz2j7Ox5W3a

Husband, 31, 'confesses to killing his wife with a single blow to her throat after she wanted a divorce' - but he won't say where her body is

A husband who allegedly confessed to killing his wife after she said she wanted a divorce has been charged with her murder - but has refused to tell authorities where her body is.

Luis Toledo, a 31-year-old with martial arts training, told police he had struck 28-year-old Yessenia Suarez with a single deadly blow to her throat after confronting her over messages on her phone from another man.

But he denied hurting her two children, nine-year-old Thalia and eight-year-old Michael Otto, who have also been missing from their Daytona Beach, Florida home for six days.

Toledo had previously been described as a 'person of interest' in the case but police said he confessed to the killing and on Monday he was charged with second-degree murder.

No charges have been brought in connection with the children's disappearances. An unsuccessful search for them was held at the weekend but was temporarily suspended on Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

Police said that at the time of Suarez's disappearance, she had been talking about leaving him and last Tuesday, he went to her work to confront her and a coworker he claimed she had been seeing.

The coworker was not there but during the argument, Toledo, who told police he was trained in martial arts, slapped his wife before fleeing, authorities said.


'Killer': Luis Toledo told police he killed his wife with a single blow to her throat as they argued


Charged: Toledo was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife after confessing to police

The following day, police officer went to check on her and the children after her mother called to report that she was unable to get through to her daughter.

Toledo arrived back at the home and told authorities that he had slept in the car following an argument and had returned to find his wife and the children missing, police said.

Toledo - a known gang member - was initially arrested on a domestic battery charge.

But a neighbor told police that Toledo had asked for help dropping off his wife's car at 6am on Wednesday and they took it to Lake Mary, the Sentinel reported.

Police added that a search of the couple's home also revealed blood.

A Florida missing child alert was issued for both children early Thursday.


Confirmed dead: Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her children, 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto disappeared after the woman had an alleged domestic dispute with Toledo last week. Police confirmed that all three were dead

Toledo eventually admitted that during an argument with Suarez on Tuesday night, she became aggressive towards him and he hit her in the throat with an open blow, killing her, police said.

But he denied hurting the children and even implicated another person in their deaths, police said.

After his arrest, he attempted suicide in the bathroom at the Sheriff's Office's Operations Center using a shattered mirror and underwent treatment.

He is being held in the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach without bail.

'The search for the victims’ bodies and the investigation into their deaths is still ongoing,' authorities said in a statement.

The woman's family has suspected Toledo from the beginning.


Such a tragedy: Micheal Otto (left) and Thalia Otto (right) have been confirmed dead by officials

'Please, please I beg you Luis,' Felicia Perez, Ms Suarez's mother said, according to Click Orlando said. 'You know you know where they at, please, that's all I ask.'

Characterized by the sheriff's office as a gang member, Mr Toledo has multiple arrests and has even served time in prison under an alias.

He has multiple burglary, kidnapping and firearms charges brought against him in the past, according to ClickOrlando.

Mr Toledo even served a four-year prison term under the name Michael Garcia. He has also been arrested under the names Luis Colon and Hector Soto, according to records cited by ClickOrlando.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2478887/Luis-Toledo-Husband-31-charged-murdering-missing-wife-confessed-police.html

The police confirm they are all dead but don't have bodies??  This man is why we need a national death penalty in the deliberate killing of a child.  William

William, we have the death penalty here in Florida.  I'm sure they'll go for it.  He's an evil monster.

And the blood found in the house surely was not from his giving his wife a lethal blow to the neck. This is so sad;  for her family.

Footnote: Never an excuse for murder, but a married woman and mother should not be dallying with a co-worker. Also I wonder if she was aware of his past when she let him become the step-father to her darling children. Of course people can change, but it's a risk to take when you have children to think of.

And William, when they find his victims, and after he's lived with what he's done for a little bit, then they give him his sheets back!

VCSO: Extensive search efforts for murdered mother, children halted


Felicia Perez, mother of Yessenia Suarez, gets a hug Sunday as people gather at Deltona Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church, to continue the search for missing Deltona mom Yessenia Suarez and her two children, Michael Otto and Thalia Otto.

News-Journal/DAVID TUCKER


Published: Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 10:50 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 11:02 p.m.

DELTONA — Investigators will continue to search for the bodies of a missing Deltona mother and her two children, but with main objectives of the ground search completed, the large-scale effort will not continue today, Volusia County sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said.


Sheriff's investigators have been searching for Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her two children, Michael Otto, 8, and Thalia Otto, 9, for 10 days “since the first well-being check and they were nowhere to be found,” Davidson said.

Law enforcement personnel from across Central Florida, along with dozens of concerned family members and friends, continued the search for the bodies Sunday to no avail. Davidson said while efforts to find the missing trio will continue, the mobile command post on Doyle Road would close Sunday night.

“Objectives identified by incident commanders coordinating the ground search out of the mobile command post in Deltona have been completed,” Davidson said.

“This has included ground searches involving hundreds of personnel that extended out beyond the initial half-mile radius around the victims' residence, expanding out to areas approximately 12 miles away from the home of Yessenia Suarez and her two children .

“In addition, in excess of 20 water bodies have been searched with boats and divers.”

Davidson said investigators would hold strategy sessions today, review search maps and investigative information, and meet with the victims' family “to determine what our next steps will be.”

“The investigative component of the case continues virtually nonstop, and additional sites will be searched as dictated by the investigation as well as decisions made as a result of (today's) strategy sessions,” he added.


http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20131103/NEWS/131109820/1040?Title=VCSO-Extensive-search-efforts-for-murdered-mother-children-halted&tc=ar

Twinkletoes, that's what I was worried about when I read about the blood.  This is so sad.

Public defender: Legal issues surround Luis Toledo's arrest
Monday, November 04, 2013, 12:00 PM

A Volusia County public defender says the man accused of murdering missing mother, Yessenia Toledo, should never have been arrested on the domestic violence charges in the first place.

Public defender for the Seventh Judicial Court James Purdy said Lake Mary Police did not have the right to arrest Luis Toledo.

Purdy said it’s a mistake that could now have an effect on evidence admitted in court.

"This is an amazing faux paux. I mean when I look at it, I scratch my head as soon as I saw it,” said Purdy.

Purdy said he saw the problem in Toledo's arrest report on Oct. 24 at Yessenia Suarez's Deltona home.

He said Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputies detained Toledo after he allegedly slapped Suarez at her Lake Mary office the previous day.

They waited for Lake Mary Police to arrive, make the arrest and transfer him to the Volusia County jail.

But it was illegal, Purdy said, because Lake Mary Police have no jurisdiction in Volusia County, and the only authority they had at that time would have been to make the arrest was as private citizens.

"Under Florida law, which follows the common law, a private citizen can only make an arrest for a misdemeanor if it occurs in their presence. So the arrest itself was an illegal arrest," he said.

According to Purdy, Toledo's detention was also illegal because the arrest was illegal.

Toledo confessed to killing Suarez, investigators said, and told them he believed the children were dead, implicating another unidentified person.

But all of that information could have possibly been illegally obtained.

Purdy said the Public Defender's Office will file a motion to suppress evidence.

However, he admits Toledo will not be freed because he was re-arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Suarez.

Suarez's stepfather, Ruben Perez, knows about the presumed illegal arrest, but is confident Toledo will remain behind bars.

"No, I can't see that. As you guys know he's confessed to murdering my daughter. So how can you release something like that?” he said.

Toledo tried killing himself while he was being questioned on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Purdy said that also happened when he was being illegally detained.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said they are focused on their investigation and trying to recover the bodies and any legal issues would be "resolved by the courts."

Requests for comments from the Lake Mary Police Department and State Attorney's Office have not yet been returned.

Toledo is being held without bond. He is scheduled for arraignment for the murder charge on Nov. 21.

The search for Suarez and her two children continued Sunday with teams looking through a landfill in Port Orange.

http://baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2013/11/3/public_defender_luis.html

Wow, I hope they have 'common sense' laws here that won't allow him to go free on technicalities. The grown son of one of my customers was murdered, cops had the weapon..etc, but they didn't follow the rules, lied a bit, and the murderer and his girlfriend are free AND are filing a civil lawsuit.

Surely something like this cannot be used to let this monster get by with what he did.

Posted: 4:00 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 16, 2014

Family hopes for death penalty for suspect accused of killing daughter, grandchildren.

DELTONA, Fla. —

Luis Toledo, who is accused of killing his wife, who disappeared in October, has now been charged with killing her children and tampering with evidence, officials said Thursday.

Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her two children, 8-year-old Michael Otto and 9-year-old Thalia Otto, were last seen on Oct. 23.

A grand jury indicted Toledo on Thursday in connection with the children's deaths even though their bodies have not been recovered.

"You can establish murder without the bodies," said State Attorney R.J. Larizza. "We hope and continue to be hopeful that we will find the bodies one day."

Investigators said Toledo admitted that while arguing with Suarez, he hit her in the throat with his open hand and she died from the blow.

Investigators said Toledo admitted to killing Suarez but said a friend killed the children.

Larizza explained his office had enough evidence to call in the grand jury to indict Toledo. He said there is more information about the case that he's not releasing at this time.

"There's statements that which I can't yet go into in great detail which indicate that all three are dead and that they were murdered," said Larizza.

Searches for more than a month around Deltona failed to turn up any sign of the bodies, but Larizza said the quest for more evidence continues.

"We hope to find more evidence. We continue searching for the bodies, and we'll continue to build the case as we go along," he said.

WFTV spoke to members of Suarez’s family who believe Toledo deserves the death penalty now that these additional charges have been added.

Suarez’s stepfather, Ruben Perez, said he still can't fathom how someone could kill two young children.

Prosecutors haven’t decided whether or not to go with the death penalty yet but Suarez’s family have already made up their minds.

“I think the death penalty is appropriate in this matter,” Perez said.
.
Suarez’s mother, Felicia Perez, said she’s glad justice is on its way.

“I miss them a lot, every day,” she said.

Channel 9 learned investigators said Suarez was the victim of domestic violence involving Toledo.

Authorities said Toledo and Suarez had been talking about separating and that Toledo was angry about some text messages he found on his wife's phone, so he showed up at Suarez's Lake Mary workplace, where he confronted and slapped her, according to investigators.

Suarez's family said the three disappeared just hours after that confrontation.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/Family-hopes-for-death-penalty-for-suspect-accused/ncqsn/

Luis Toledo’s attorney delays arraignment in Deltona killings

By Frank Fernandez
Published: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 3:43 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 6:22 p.m.

DELTONA — Luis Toledo was escorted into a courtroom on Tuesday for his first pre-trial hearing since he was indicted last week on charges of first-degree murder in the killing of two children and second-degree murder in the slaying of their mother.

Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson asked whether Toledo was ready to be arraigned, in which the formal charges would be read against him and he would enter a plea.

Toledo’s defense attorney, Jeff Deen, said he did not want Toledo arraigned yet and that he planned to file motions related to the indictment.

“At this time we are going to object to him being arraigned on that indictment,” Deen said.

Hudson said a date would be set for Toledo’s arraignment,which would take place in the next several weeks.

A grand jury indicted the 32-year-old Toledo last week on charges of first-degree murder in the killings of Michael Otto, 8, and Thalia Otto, 9, and second-degree murder in the killings of their mother, Yessenia Suarez, 28,who was Toledo’s wife. The family disappeared from their Deltona home nearly three months ago and their bodies have not been found but investigators believe they are all dead.

Volusia County sheriff’s investigators said Toledo admitted to killing Suarez with a strike to the throat. But he has denied killing the children and blames their deaths on someone else, investigators said.

The grand jury also charged Toledo with tampering with evidence. A pre-trial in the case is set for Feb. 18, and a trial is set for March 10, but the trial will likely not take place then.

The hearing on Tuesday at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand was attended by several of Suarez’s family members who sat on one side of the courtroom while three relatives and or friends of Toledo sat on the other.

Toledo looked toward his group as he was escorted handcuffed into the courtroom and also looked toward Suarez’s relatives.

Toledo then stood at the podium looking toward the judge, moving his head and shoulders at one point as if stretching. At one point a bailiff said something to Toledo.

Suarez’s stepfather, Ruben Perez, said after the hearing that it looked like Toledo had lost weight.

“I think he looks rough,” Perez said. “But I would expect that from what he did. I wouldn’t expect any less to see how his condition has deteriorated but again this is all on him.”

He vowed that he and other family members would be a persistent presence at hearings.

“We will continue to show up every time there is a hearing, because we want to make sure that we show the support for Jessie and the kids and that’s what this is all about,” Perez said. “It’s about Jessie bringing justice for her and the kids.”

After the hearing, Deen declined to talk about the motions he said he plans to file.

Assistant State Attorney J. Ryan Will told reporters that he did not know what the motions were about.

“I’m not real sure, maybe to the form of the indictment, maybe to the substantive charges, maybe the information and how it was gathered. I’m not sure,” Will said.

Will said that no decision had been made on whether to pursue the death penalty against Toledo.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140121/NEWS/140129926/1040?Title=Luis-Toledo-8217-s-attorney-delays-arraignment-in-Deltona-killings&tc=ar#gsc.tab=0

Police dash cam recording giving more clues into Deltona family’s slaying

Posted: 10:29 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Police dash cam video is giving more insight into what happened the day before investigators believe a Deltona mother and her two children were murdered.

A 911 call Yessenia Suarez’s co-worker made when her husband Luis Toledo went to her job and accused her of cheating on him was released Tuesday.

WFTV’s Myrt Price attained video from a Lake Mary police officer’s dash camera after police responded to that 911 call.

In it, Suarez talked to officers about the confrontation and described how she was being tormented by Toledo.

“He’s claiming that I’m having a relationship with one of my co-workers, so he went crazy,” Suarez can be heard saying in the video.

The audio was recorded in October by a Lake Mary police cruiser dashboard camera, after an officer arrived at to Suarez’s job following a 911 call from a co-worker saying that he came in the building and assaulted Suarez.

Even though the officer and Suarez talked inside the building, the dash cam was still able to record the conversation.

“He hit me here, right here, literally, he slapped me on my face,” Suarez is heard saying in the video.

She then told the officer about the troubled relationship.

“We’ve been having problems and I told him last weekend, I didn’t want to be with him, and he’s harassing me,” she said in the recording.

She also explained the great lengths that she said Toledo had gone to, to keep tabs on her.

"He put spyware on my phone so he can see everything I do from it, personal and professional, business stuff to,” Suarez said.

Toledo left the business before the cops arrived. He was arrested the next day on domestic violence charges, but by then Suarez and her two children, 9-year-old Thalia Otto and 8-year-old Michael Otto, had already disappeared.

Investigators said Toledo admitted to killing his wife after hitting her in the throat, but so far, he hasn’t said where he left her body.

Officials said he denied killing the children and has implicated someone else in their deaths.

http://www.wftv.com/news/news/local/police-dash-cam-recording-giving-more-clues-delton/nc6tL/

Luis Toledo evidence: Girl's DNA found in blood stains, trunk mat
Luis Toledo is being held without bond in Volusia County

By Arelis Hernández and Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel
10:35 a.m. EST, February 6, 2014

Prosecutors hope blood and DNA evidence from from 9-year-old Thalia Otto will convict the man charged with killing the child, her mother and brother.

That evidence was revealed Wednesday in newly released records from the case against Luis Toledo, who is charged with killing Thalia, Yessenia Suarez, 28, and 8-year-old Michael Otto.

The mother and children disappeared in late October, and are presumed dead.

The new records detail evidence investigators found inside the couple's Covent Gardens Place home, suggesting someone had tried to cover up whatever violence occurred there.

In an investigative supplement, deputies noted "a strong odor consistent with Pine Sol cleaner" in the house on the morning of Oct. 23. Deputies found the grout near the master bathroom closet "visibly wet with standing water on the grout."

Deputies also observed a mark on the corner of a tub that "appeared to be consistent with the color of blood."

Florida Department of Law Enforcement records show investigators found evidence of Thalia Otto's DNA in blood stains found in the bathroom. The girl's DNA was also found in the trunk mat from Suarez's car and on the left boot Toledo was wearing the night the family disappeared.

A neighbor and a bus driver both told authorities they had seen Toledo wiping and cleaning that vehicle at a Publix shopping center in the area, where it was found amid the search for the mother and children.

As deputies searched the home, hours after the disappearances of Suarez and her children, they found two small canvas paintings in a trash can. One had been ripped.

A deputy later heard Suarez's mother speaking of an "unreported incident" days earlier, in which Toledo had tried to stab Suarez with a knife, but missed and stabbed a painting.

In a phone conversation with a Lake Mary police officer on Oct. 22, she reported that she was in fear of Toledo and that he had physically harmed her before.

She also reported that he had threatened her with a knife, had tried to strangle her and had been "stalking, following, or watching" her, and had mentioned suicide or homicide.

According to the records, Suarez had an appointment for Oct. 25 with prosecutors to discuss Toledo.

Hours after Toledo had appeared at Suarez's office and slapped her in front of coworkers, she sent him a text message that she was going to file a restraining order against him. "The divorce papers will come soon thereafter," she wrote.

In reply, Toledo wrote that his wife's infidelity provoked him to confront her at work. He also brushed off her fears that he would harm her.

"U crazy I will never kill nor hurt you," he wrote.

Authorities have said Toledo confessed that he fatally struck his wife in the throat during a fight. But he has refused to provide the location of her body, or those of the children.

Toledo, now 32, has told detectives that someone else killed the children.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-luis-toledo-murder-evidence-deltona-20140205,0,2344057.story

Luis Toledo hoarded pills, refused several meals, Volusia jail documents show

By Frank Fernandez
Published: Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 7:49 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, February 8, 2014 at 9:23 p.m.

Luis Toledo, jailed and indicted in the killings of his wife and her two children, had stashed a cup with some pills underneath a sink in his cell, according to jail records.

Toledo is on suicide watch and the discovery of the pills raised concern that he was trying to gather a lethal dose of medication, a prosecutor suggested at a hearing last week.

Toledo has been charged with one count of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of Yessenia Suarez, 28, and her two children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Otto, 8. The mother and children were reported missing Oct. 23 from their Deltona home and their bodies have not been found.

Toledo had attempted suicide on Oct. 26 while he was being questioned by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office about the disappearance of his wife and her children. Toledo tried to barricade himself in a restroom and broke a mirror, using a glass shard to cut his neck and left forearm, a corrections report said. Deputies subdued him and Toledo was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center to have surgery on his left forearm, a corrections report said.

The pills were found by a guard checking Toledo’s cell on Jan. 3 after he was moved to a new cell. The guard was checking the cell before a new inmate was moved in and noticed the folded cup underneath the sink, according to a Volusia County Division of Corrections incident report.

The cup contained three white pills and two orange pills, according to the report. The cup also contained white powder from crushed up pills. The names of the medications were blacked out on the report.

Toledo told a correctional officer that he didn’t want to take the medicine but the exact reason why was redacted. The guard told Toledo that if he did not want to take the medicine he could refuse it.

Toledo was charged with “conduct which disrupts or interferes with the security of the institution and misuse of authorized medication.” Toledo refused to appear at the disciplinary boards. Toledo also refused to sign the disciplinary board waiver.

The penalty was 15 days loss of privileges, including commissary and visitation, said spokesman Dave Byron. The offenses also result in segregation but Toledo was already on lockdown, Byron said.

Prosecutor Ryan Will asked jail warden William McClellan during a Feb. 3 hearing if there was the “belief that the stockpiling and taking of his medication all at one time could in fact kill Mr. Toledo?”

But before McClellan could answer Toledo’s defense attorney Jeff Deen objected and Circuit Judge Margaret Hudson sustained it.

Nine days after the pills were found, Toledo refused his sixth consecutive meal, according to a report with the subject line: “Hunger strike.” A guard was “feeding chow” on Jan. 12 and opened the “chow flap to the cell for inmate Toledo,” the report said. The guard asked Toledo if he wanted breakfast.

“Inmate Toledo told me that he was not hungry and did not want to eat,” the report said.

The guard checked a log and saw that it was the sixth consecutive meal Toledo had refused to eat, so he notified a supervisor. A nurse and six correctional officers subsequently entered Toledo’s cell. The guards restrained Toledo and then he was weighed on a portable scale. The nurse took his vitals and then informed Toledo “of possible serious and detrimental results of fasting.”

Personnel were instructed to continue to monitor Toledo’s food intake.

http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140208/NEWS/140209434/1040?Title=Luis-Toledo-hoarded-pills-refused-several-meals-Volusia-jail-documents-show

Documents: Luis Toledo met with Yessenia's dad after arrest

By John W. Davis and Saul Saenz, Team Coverage
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 26, 2014, 5:31 AM

DELTONA -- New pictures of blood spatters found inside the home of a murdered Volusia County mother and two children are among the new documents released Tuesday by the State Attorney’s Office.

Luis Toledo Documents:

• Part 1 (PDF)
  
• Part 2 (PDF)
  

Luis Toledo is accused of killing his wife, Yessenia Suarez, and her two children in October 2013 after a domestic violence incident at Suarez’s workplace.

The nearly 150 pages of evidence and thousands of pictures released Tuesday also detail what Toledo's neighbor allegedly saw him doing the morning his wife disappeared.

Volusia County deputies took Toledo to the Hollywood Cemetery in Orange City in October where his parents were laid to rest to let him “sit and make peace with his parents.”

Investigators were hoping that would make Toledo want to tell them where Suarez and her two young children -- 8-year-old Michael and 9-year-old Thalia Otto -- were. But he never did.

In the documents released Tuesday were DNA, blood and hair evidence from inside the couple’s home and vehicles.

At 12:49 a.m. on the day Suarez disappeared, investigators said a co-worker of Suarez, with whom she had been having a romantic relationship, was the last person to talk to her on the phone. However, her voice sounded different.

At 5 a.m., investigators said Toledo’s brother said Luis stopped by his house unannounced and appeared to be “out of it.”

Just after 6 a.m., Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators said Toledo asked his neighbor to help him move one of the couple’s cars. The neighbor agreed and they dropped off Suarez’s black Honda Accord in the parking lot of a Publix in Lake Mary.

The neighbor told investigators he saw Toledo wiping down the car with a rag and cleaning solution.  He said Toledo threw the supplies away. But the neighbor took investigators back to the dumpster, who recovered all of the items.

The new documents also show Toledo met with his wife's father after he was arrested.

Toledo is charged with first-degree murder in the children's deaths and first-degree murder in Yessenia's death. He admits killing his wife, but denies killing the children.

In documents released Feb. 5, a deputy who searched the family's home the morning Suarez was reported missing, said he detected a "strong odor consistent with Pine Sol cleaner in the master bathroom." The deputy also said he found a small mark on the bathtub that "appeared to be consistent with the color of blood."

Toledo is being held without bond at the Volusia County Jail.

http://mynews13.com/content/news/cfnews13/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2014/2/25/luis_toledo_document.html

Luis Toledo was No. 3 person in Florida gang

Toledo accused of killing wife, her children

 UPDATED 6:43 AM EST Feb 28, 2014

The Deltona man accused of killing his wife and her two children is not only a member of the Florida Latin Kings, for a time he served as the No. 3 person in the gang.

One month before Luis Toledo was arrested as a suspect in the murders, he testified against Florida's Latin Kings leader in a racketeering trial.

Toledo was a key witness.
Timeline: Mother, kids go missing
Former statewide prosecutor Anne Wedge-McMillen said Toledo was a true Latin Kings believer.  Photos from inside the home where investigators said Toledo killed his wife Yessenia Suarez, and her children, Thalia and Michael, include articles about the Latin Kings.
Wedge-McMillen said the organization sanctions brutal punishment if someone, even a wife, crosses the gang.

Watch: Deputies release hundreds of photos in Luis Toledo case
"A violation of that religion, like any fanaticism, if homicide is a correct outlet for the violation, then it's completely sanctioned," Wedge-McMillen said.

Suarez was going to divorce Toledo and the day before she and her children disappeared, Toledo confronted her at her workplace for allegedly having an affair -- what could be seen as disrespect for a man who was, at one time, the state's Latin Kings No. 3 -- The Enforcer.

When asked if he killed his wife, Wedge-McMillen said, "Yes."

Raw video: Deputies search Yessenia Suarez's home after disappearance
She spent several hours talking to the jailed Toledo in Volusia County, hoping he would tell her the truth about his family's deaths and where he put the bodies, she said.

Wedge-McMillen said Toledo said all three were dead and that he cleaned the house after their deaths.

Toledo maintains someone else killed the children, perhaps because child murder is not sanctioned by the Latin Kings. However, investigators believe Toledo is the lone killer.

Wedge-McMillen said Toledo is an expert on how to clean a crime scene and to dispose of bodies.

But she said Toledo may actually not know where the bodies are, if other gang members were involved.

Most watched video: Raw video: Police chase suspect through St. Pete
Toledo testified in a racketeering case against Latin Kings former leader Jose Perez, who was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Turned out Perez was a federal informant while a Latin King, so other gang members didn't necessarily see Toledo's testimony as betrayal. He's likely still in good gang standing.

http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/volusia-county/luis-toledo-was-no-3-person-in-florida-gang/24721932

Attorney: Luis Toledo won't go to trial for murder this year
Toledo accused of killing wife, her two children

UPDATED 7:14 AM EDT Jun 18, 2014

DELTONA, Fla. —The Deltona man accused of killing his wife and her two children will not go on trial this year.

Luis Toledo was in court for another pretrial hearing Tuesday. He faces a second-degree murder charge in the death of his wife, Yessenia Suarez, and first-degree murder charges in the deaths of her children, Thalia Otto and Michael Otto. The bodies have not been found.

The judge granted a three-month continuance to Toledo, but Toledo's defense attorney told WESH 2 News he would not be ready for trial this year.

Attorney Jeff Deen said because the state is seeking the death penalty against his client, he has to proceed slowly and carefully.

"Getting everything coordinated and making sure that we have all the information we need, it's going to take time. It's a serious case. Real people involved, so we're taking our time," said Deen.

Toledo allegedly admitted killing his wife with a blow to the throat during an argument at the family home in Deltona last October. He has denied killing the children.

Last month, WESH 2 News obtained letters Toledo wrote from jail to friends. In one, the former Latin King member wrote:

"I have a big surprise for the world. I have many friends that owe me favors. Between you and me, I sent three boxes to Laredo, Texas," he wrote. "One big one and two small ones. The big one I sent to Vera Cruz, Mexico and the two others are doing well. Now, you know, I don't care what they do with me. My things are fine," he said.

He did not say what was in the boxes.

Toledo's attorney wouldn't comment on his letters from jail, but he did say his client has been helpful in his own defense.

"He's been very easy to deal with," Deen said.

http://www.wesh.com/news/attorney-luis-toledo-wont-go-to-trial-for-murder-this-year/26534764?tru=0Y9he#ixzz34zwsXIsP