Death notices have been filed for the three people accused in what Osceola County Sheriff's deputies call a botched murder-for-hire plot.
- State seeking death against 3 accused in alleged murder-for-hire plot
- Deputies say Janice Zengotita-Torres was mistakenly killed
- 3 are charged with premedidated murder, kidnapping
- RELATED:
All of the defendants pleaded not guilty before Osceola County Judge Jon B. Morgan on Thursday morning.
One by one, the three people accused in Janice Zengotita-Torres' killing were read their charges out loud.
“Count 2 is a first degree felony punishable by up to life in prison,” Morgan said.
Ishnar Lopez-Ramos, GlorianMarie Quiñones-Montes and Alexis Ramos-Rivera are all charged with premeditated murder, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery.
The Osceola Sheriff’s Office says Zengotita-Torres of Kissimmee was mistakenly killed amid an alleged love triangle. Detectives say her hands were wrapped with zip ties and that a trash bag was duct-taped over her head. She was beaten but ultimately suffocated, officials said.
Her body was found days later in Ormond Beach.
The State Attorney’s death penalty review board came to a collective decision to file a notice to seek the death penalty against all three people.
“The state has filed its notice that it is seeking the death penalty in this case,” Morgan said.
In court, Quiñones-Montes sat with her head bowed before being called up to the podium. When she was told that if found guilty she could pay with her life, she started crying.
Ramos-Rivera hid his face behind a Manila envelope to avoid the camera. Lopez-Ramos stood silently.
Morgan tentatively set the trial date for all three for April 30.