Cid Torrez Indicted By Grand Jury For Missing Wife's Murder
MIRAMAR (CBSMiami) – The estranged husband of a missing Miramar woman was indicted on a first degree murder charge by a Broward County grand jury Thursday.
CBS 4 News has obtained a copy of the arrest report in the case which lays out the evidence police gathered against Cid Torrez and which was presented to the grand jury.
Miramar Police say Torrez killed his wife, Vilet, in March and pretended for months that she was still alive somewhere. Her body has never been found despite intensive searches.
In the arrest affidavit we learn of allegations that Torrez attacked his wife in the past, that he made comments to a friend about harming Vilet and some of the most damaging testimony may come from the couple's own daughter.
The report details a marriage in shambles and a couple planning to divorce.
Police say Torrez spoke to a friend six months before Vilet vanished and the friend claims Torrez said "he could not take the cheating any longer and that the marriage was over."
The friend said Cid told him he wanted to kill Vilet's new boyfriend and said "either (Vilet's) with me or she's dead."
The friend said Cid "came up with several scenarios to kill victim" and wondered "where is the best place to bury a body or to hide a body."
The report also contains specifics about a violent encounter between the couple in September 2011. A church counselor told police Vilet said "Cid hit her several times in the face while he had her pinned down on the bed" and told her "he was going to kill her."
The counselor said Cid admitted "he had been violent towards Vilet in the past."
At the grand jury hearing Vilet's best friend, Clarissa Garcia, says Vilet spoke to her about the abuse allegations.
"They had a very volatile relationship and I think unfortunately we're seeing the consequences of that," Garcia said.
Surveillance video showed Vilet returning to her gated community early Saturday March 31. Cid Torrez told police she never made it to her house. But the arrest report says the couple's oldest daughter believed her mother was home because she awakened by a strange noise in the bedroom next door overnight.
The girl told police she heard "howling" and "crying" coming from the room and "she then heard her father in the other room sniffling and saying, 'No you wake up' a couple of times."
Investigators say they don't know what became of Vilet's body despite many searches. Police say Cid Torrez had his cell phone turned off for most of the day on April first.
But police say they did find something strange about Cid's car -- specially trained dogs detected the odor of human remains in the trunk and backseat.
Cid Torrez's attorney Richard Della Fera says his client is innocent.
"It's outrageous," Della Fera told CBS 4's Carey Codd. "He's not guilty of this crime and we look forward to getting before a jury a trial jury and proving his innocence."
Della Fera questioned the veracity of the statements of the state's witnesses and said he has serious doubts about the "reliability of the science" behind the use of the human remains dogs.
As for the testimony of the couple's daughter, Della Fera said "as the preparation of the defense moves forward it will be shown that that statement is not reliable."
Another piece of evidence Miramar Police refer to in the arrest report -- the 911 call Cid made "after being urged to by a friend" 3 days after his wife disappeared.
On the call Torrez explains how long Vilet has been missing.
"And, Friday, as a matter of fact, Saturday morning or Friday night, she didn't come to sleep, and then I don't know about Saturday, and now Sunday, I definitely did it, so," Torrez tells the 911 operator.
"You did what?," the 911 operator asks.
"I mean um it was 1 o'clock and she didn't show up either," Torrez replies.
Torrez's attorney told us his client was simply referring to calling Vilet's mother.
The police report also says Torrez told someone connected with his former job that he installed special software on his wife's cell phone to spy on her.
The family of Vilet Torrez called the grand jury's decision to indict Cid Torrez on a first degree murder an important step.
Her brother Javier Blanco also said the arrest report supports what the family feared all along.
"All in all, when you put the picture together is shows that he is guilty of a crime," Blanco said.
After Torrez's arrest on Thanksgiving eve, Della Fera said trying the case without a body would be difficult.
"They're proceeding with a circumstantial evidence case," Della Fera said. "In my opinion a circumstantial evidence case is very difficult to prove to a jury."
Torrez was taken into custody at his parents house in Miami Lakes with his children when he was arrested, according to police.
"It's been extremely hard for our family, for my mother, for everyone," said Vilet's sister, Nayiva Blanco during an emotional news conference the night of Torrez's arrest. "It's not over until we know the truth and until we find her and until we're able to tell her children where their mother is."
Cid Torrez has maintained his innocence and until his arrest, he had custody of the couple's three children. The children are now in the care of Vilet's family.
Cid Torrez spoke to CBS 4′s Carey Codd on the day CBS 4 News broke the news in April that he was being considered a person of interest in his wife's disappearance. He denied involvement.
"Did you have anything to do with her disappearance?" Codd asked.
"Nothing at all," Torrez told him.
