A Florida man who was on probation has been charged with first-degree murder after allegedly stalking, murdering and dismembering his 71-year-old stepfather.
What led authorities to suspect Jose Proano was a grisly discovery in three suitcases just before midnight on Aug. 4.
The pieces of luggage were found along a roadway in Orlando near the home of Proano’s mother and stepfather.
About 23 hours earlier, the family of Jorge Vazquez-Escutia called for help.
They’d found his phone, wallet and keys at his home and what looked like blood on the fence outside, according to an affidavit filed in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit Court.
His cars were in his driveway with the doors unlocked, which was unusual, a family member told authorities. They hadn’t seen him in three days, they told deputies with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
And friends of his stepson had reached out to the family with a shocking claim – that Jose Proano had told them he’d killed his stepfather, court records show.
The sheriff’s office quickly took to social media asking for the public’s help finding Vazquez-Escutia because of “concerns for Jorge’s wellbeing, as he suffers from memory loss.”
Then footage from a neighbor’s security camera showed a disturbing series of events.
On the morning of Aug. 2, the day after the missing man was last seen, the security video showed a man wearing a black shirt jumping over the back wall of Vazquez-Escutia’s home.
Later, the same man appears at the back of the house “bringing out suitcases… and ultimately placing what appeared to be a human arm, into the suitcase,” court records show.
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And at about 4:28 p.m., the video shows the man in black walking down the driveway, carrying three pieces of luggage.
The suitcases “appeared heavy, as the male’s left tricep muscle was clearly flexed as he was pulling them,” detectives reported.
Investigators called Proano, 44, and asked to meet with them. They’d reviewed his phone records, which showed it had been in the area about the same time the man in black was seen on security video.
Slowly, they pieced together a timeline.
Days earlier, Proano traveled to the area from Northport, about 150 miles away. Proano’s ex-wife told authorities he’d been “acting erratic, making threats towards her,” court records show.
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Proano agreed to meet with investigators, court records show.
He told them he had a “negative relationship” with his stepfather, and believed Vazquez-Escutia had “restricted his ability to see his mother.” He also told investigators about his schizophrenia, which causes voices in his head that lead “him to worry about members of his family.”
Records showed he’d made numerous calls to 911 asking for someone to check on his mother. He believed “bad things were happening,” records with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office show. Deputies checked, found all was well at the home, and reported back to reassure him, records show.
But something bad had, indeed, happened.
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