A severed head stuffed in a suitcase found hidden along a west Orange County road Tuesday has led to murder charges against the victim’s stepson.
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Jose L. Proano, 44, is accused of killing his 71-year-old stepfather, Jorge Vazquez-Escutia, then dismembering the body and putting the remains in three suitcases.
Proano traveled from southwest Florida to Orlando on July 31 concerned about his mother’s well-being, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. Proano, a diagnosed schizophrenic, reportedly had a troubled relationship with Vazquez-Escutia and was worried that his stepfather was abandoning his mother, who has dementia, according to Proano’s arrest report.
The investigation began around midnight on Tuesday after Vazquez-Escutia was reported missing. Family members found his phone, wallet and keys at his four-bedroom west Orange home, along with blood on the backyard fence, according to the sheriff’s office. Forensic testing confirmed the blood belonged to Vazquez-Escutia.
Surveillance footage viewed by deputies showed a man matching Proano’s description climbing over the back fence of Vazquez-Escutia’s residence on Sunday. The footage captured the man stuffing what appeared to be a human arm into a suitcase and later dragging several suitcases away from the property, the arrest report said.
Around 11 p.m. Tuesday, investigators searching the area on foot located three suitcases along White Road. One canvas suitcase, found behind a brick wall about 1,000 feet from the intersection of Good Homes Road and White Road, contained a human head identified as Vazquez-Escutia’s.
Two additional black suitcases, found approximately 400 feet further down White Road, contained human remains wrapped in tarps. The suitcases had luggage tags belonging to Proano’s mother. The county medical examiner is conducting autopsies on the remains, the arrest report said.
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Cellphone tower data placed Proano’s phone at Vazquez-Escutia’s residence during the time when the surveillance video showed the man moving the suitcases. Proano initially denied being at the residence on Sunday, but he later admitted to surveilling the home though denied any involvement in a homicide, the report said.
He claimed memory issues due to his schizophrenia and gave conflicting statements about his whereabouts. Throughout the investigation, Proano made several 911 calls requesting welfare checks on his family members, which investigators considered obsessive, according to the report.
Friends of Proano told deputies he confessed to killing Vazquez-Escutia, describing it as “taking care of his father” and mentioning a physical altercation.
The sheriff’s office said in a statement that the death remains under investigation, but there is no threat to the community.
“Our thoughts are with Mr. Vazquez-Escutia’s loved ones as they navigate this unimaginable loss,” the statement read.
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Proano was booked into the Orange County Jail on Wednesday.