Federal prosecutors have officially put the ultimate punishment on the table in one of Central Florida’s most closely watched cases, filing notice Friday that they will seek the death penalty against Jordanish Torres-Garcia, one of four men accused in the April 11, 2024, Winter Springs carjacking that left 31-year-old Katherine Aguasvivas dead. The move shifts the long-running probe into the slow, high-stakes machinery of a federal capital case and sharply raises the pressure on everyone involved.
According to WKMG/ClickOrlando, a court document labeled a “Notice of Intention to Seek the Death Penalty” states that federal prosecutors believe Torres-Garcia intentionally killed Aguasvivas. The station also reports that prosecutors filed separate notices saying they will not seek the death penalty against two co-defendants, Giovany Crespo Hernandez and Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla.
The carjacking itself was captured on video by a witness at the intersection of East Lake Drive and Tuskawilla Road, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office said in an April 2024 release. Local reporting and court records state that Aguasvivas’ burned SUV, with a body inside, was later found in Osceola County, and investigators allege she had driven to Central Florida to pick up roughly $170,000 tied to drug proceeds. Per Spectrum News 13, the witness video and subsequent evidence helped push the investigation into the federal arena.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment last year charging four men in connection with the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida named Jordanish Torres-Garcia, Kevin Ocasio Justiniano, Giovany Crespo Hernandez and Dereck Rodriguez Bonilla on counts that include carjacking and kidnapping resulting in death. The indictment and related filings say investigators believe Crespo Hernandez planned the robbery and that Rodriguez Bonilla provided the firearm used in the crimes, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Legal Process Ahead
Federal death penalty prosecutions follow a layered and fairly rigid review process. Local prosecutors submit detailed case materials to the Criminal Division’s Capital Case Section, and the Attorney General makes the final call on whether to seek the death penalty before any notice is filed, as outlined in the Justice Manual’s chapter on capital crimes. The manual and federal law require the government to file its intent to pursue a death sentence a reasonable time before trial, and even then, a death verdict still demands separate, unanimous jury findings of aggravating factors during a dedicated capital sentencing phase. The Justice Manual sets out the Department of Justice’s standards and procedures for these kinds of cases.
The case remains pending in U.S. District Court in Orlando. With the new death penalty notice on the record, the prosecution and defense now move deeper into the specialized scheduling, discovery, and pretrial motion practice that comes with capital litigation. The defendants are presumed innocent, and federal and local authorities continue to ask anyone with information about the case to contact investigators, according to court records and law enforcement releases.
