A Florida jury returned a death sentence Thursday to Jose Soto-Escalera, following a guilty verdict on a first-degree murder charge.
As reported by NBC 5, police discovered 23-year-old Tania Wise lying face down with injuries to her head and throat in a ditch located in northern St. Lucie County back in 2018.
Wise was eight and a half months pregnant with a son, and Soto-Escalera, married at the time, was the father.
It was said that Soto-Escalera had provided Wise with money to have an abortion, but she opted not to proceed with it. According to a witness, this decision led to his intense anger.
Court documents indicated that the pair met back in 2008 on MySpace, COURT TV reports.
While the defense had witnesses testifying that Escalera was typically non-violent, prosecutor Donald Richardson argued that the defendant orchestrated a “detailed and malicious” plan for murder.
Escalera reportedly, felt he was “going to lose everything” if his wife found out about the pregnancy.
In an attempt to spare him the death penalty, the defense argued that his rage had been toward Wise, and not the unborn baby.
In a vote of eight to four, it took the jury a little under two hours to decide on the death penalty.
[Feature Photo: Tania Wise/Haisley Funeral and Cremation Service]
