Florida Man Sentenced to Death for Murdering His Pregnant Lover Days Before She Was Due to Give Birth

A Florida man, Jose Soto-Escalera, 48, has been sentenced to death for the brutal killing of his pregnant lover, 23-year-old Tania Wise, just one week before she was due to give birth to a baby boy she had already named Josiah.

The crime, described by prosecutors as “cold, calculated, and purely self-serving,” shocked the St. Lucie County community when details first emerged in 2018.

Investigators revealed that Soto-Escalera, who was married at the time, had been involved in an affair with Wise for several months. DNA testing later confirmed that he was the father of her unborn child.

According to court records, Tania had told him she was pregnant and needed money for an abortion. Soto-Escalera agreed to give her $500 (£375) for the procedure money that she ultimately gave to another man. Prosecutors said this betrayal enraged him.

In the weeks that followed, witnesses testified that Soto-Escalera was seen asking around for a “dirty gun,” suggesting he was planning something violent.

Prosecutors believe that he decided to kill Tania to prevent his wife from discovering the affair and the impending birth of his son.

In August 2018, Tania’s body was found in a ditch along a rural roadside in northern St. Lucie County, Florida. She had suffered severe head trauma and a deep throat wound either of which would have been fatal on its own.

Her family was devastated. Friends described Tania as a “loving, energetic young woman” who had been excited to welcome her baby boy into the world.

“She was glowing with happiness,” one family friend said during the trial. “She didn’t deserve to die like that. And neither did baby Josiah.”

As the investigation unfolded, detectives uncovered chilling digital evidence linking Soto-Escalera to the crime. His phone records placed him near the location where Tania’s body was found.

Even more disturbing were his Google searches, which included phrases like:

• “Dead body in woods”

• “Wooded area dead body”

These searches, prosecutors argued, clearly demonstrated premeditation. Combined with text messages exchanged between him and Tania, the digital evidence helped prosecutors build a powerful case against him.

The jury found Jose Soto-Escalera guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, one for Tania, and one for her unborn son, Josiah.

During the sentencing phase, jurors deliberated for hours before voting 8–4 in favor of the death penalty. The presiding judge agreed with their recommendation, stating in court that “the death sentence is the appropriate and just sentence as to each victim.”

Soto-Escalera reportedly showed little emotion as the sentence was handed down.

For Tania’s loved ones, the verdict brought some sense of justice, but the pain remains immeasurable.

“She was just a week away from holding her baby,” a relative said outside the courtroom. “Now we’ll never see either of them again. We just pray they’re together in peace.

In a separate but equally somber case, Arizona inmate Richard Djerf, 55, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on October 17, for the 1993 murders of the Luna family. Albert and Patricia Luna, their 18-year-old daughter Rochelle, and 5-year-old son Damien.

After more than 30 years behind bars, Djerf issued a letter expressing remorse for his crimes. Part of it reads:

“If I can’t find reason to spare my life, what reason would anyone else have? I hope my death brings some measure of peace.”

Both cases serve as tragic reminders of how jealousy, rage, and deceit can spiral into irreversible acts of violence. While justice has been served in the courtroom, no sentence can undo the heartbreak left behind for the victims’ families.

Tania Wise’s name and the life of her unborn son, Josiah now stand as symbols of innocence lost and justice hard-won.