Florida authorities captured a “potential serial killer” who allegedly strangled two sex workers on separate occasions and then disposed of their bodies like “trash,” a Sunshine State sheriff announced Monday.
Carlos Yadiel Baez-Nieves allegedly murdered the two women in March and April, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said during a press conference.
The 25-year-old suspect picked up the women in his truck on two different occasions and had sex with them before he carried out the slayings, the law enforcement official alleged.
“Then Baez-Nieves drove to an intersection and pushed their lifeless bodies out of his truck,” Mina said.
The body of first victim, Fatia Flowers, 41, was discovered on March 14, but her cause of death was not immediately clear, Mina said. Then the body of Nichole Daniels, 44, was found in the same location on April 17.
Detectives were able to track down surveillance footage that showed Daniels getting into a “very distinctive” white Ford F-150 pickup truck the night before she was found dead, Mina said.
Other women working in the area told police they had noticed the truck as well.
The Ford F-150 belonged to Baez-Nieves, who was initially arrested on a suspended license, the Orange County top cop said.
While in custody, he confessed to the murders of the two women, Mina said.
The alleged killer claimed he had “rough sex” with one of the women and the other victim attacked him first, Mina said.
He commended his investigators for stopping 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.
“He targeted women who he clearly thought would not be missed. He murdered them and dump their bodies on the side of the road like they were trash, but very, very grateful and thankful for our great detectives who knew Fatia’s and Nichole’s life were meaningful and they of course deserve justice like all of us.”
Baez-Nieves, who has lived in Florida since 2020, is facing two first-degree murder charges and is currently in custody.
The sheriff’s office is looking into whether there could be more victims in the state or in Puerto Rico where Baez-Nieves hailed from, Mina said.
“We’re very, very happy that he’s behind bars right now and can’t do this again,” Mina said.
