A married Florida father is accused of killing his mistress who was eight months pregnant with a child authorities say he fathered, PEOPLE confirms.
Jose Soto-Escalera, 41, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the death of Tania Wise, 23, whose body was found in a ditch in a rural area on Aug. 24, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Bryan Beaty confirms to PEOPLE.
According to Beaty, Wise suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head as well as trauma to her throat, though authorities have not yet released her cause of death.
An arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE states that a witness told police that Soto-Escalera had given Wise $500 for an abortion and was angry that Wise didn’t get one.
According to the affidavit, Soto-Escalera denied to police he was in a sexual relationship with Wise and said he was at another person’s home fixing a car battery on the night she was killed. Continue Reading
