Florida officials apprehended a “potential serial killer” who reportedly strangled two sex workers and then disposed of their remains like “trash,” a Sunshine State sheriff claimed Monday.
Carlos Yadiel Baez-Nieves allegedly murdered the two women in March and April, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina during a press conference.
The 25-year-old suspect picked up the women in his truck twice and had sex with them before committing the murders, according to a law enforcement officer.
“Then Baez-Nieves drove to an intersection and pushed their lifeless bodies out of his truck,” she alleged.
The body of the first victim, Fatia Flowers, 41, was discovered on March 14, but the cause of death was unknown, Mina added. The body of Nichole Daniels, 44, was discovered in the same place on April 17.
Detectives were able to locate security tape that showed Daniels entering a “very distinctive” white Ford F-150 pickup truck the night before she was discovered dead, Mina said.
Other women working in the vicinity informed police they had seen the truck as well.
The Ford F-150 belongs to Baez-Nieves, who was initially arrested for driving with a suspended license, according to the Orange County Sheriff.
Mina reported that while in detention, he confessed to the murders of the two victims.
The alleged killer claimed he had “rough sex” with one of the women, but the second victim attacked him first, according to Mina.
He praised his investigators for apprehending a “potential serial killer.”
“I’m very confident because of our detectives’ relentless efforts in this case that they stopped Baez-Nieves from becoming a prolific serial killer,” Mina said in a statement.
“He targeted women whom he plainly believed would not be missed. He murdered them and dumped their bodies on the side of the road like trash, but we are really grateful and thankful to our wonderful investigators who recognized Fatia and Nichole’s lives were significant, and they, of course, deserve justice just like the rest of us.”
Baez-Nieves, who has lived in Florida since 2020, is currently in custody and faces two counts of first-degree murder.
According to Mina, the sheriff’s office is investigating whether there are other victims in the state or in Baez-Nieves’ native Puerto Rico.
“We’re very, very happy that he’s behind bars right now and can’t do this again,” she said.