A Florida man convicted of brutally murdering his pregnant lover and her unborn child has been sentenced to death. Jose Soto-Escalera, 48, was found guilty of two counts of first-degree murder for the 2018 killing of 23-year-old Tania Wise, who was just one week away from giving birth to a son she had already named Josiah.
Prosecutors said DNA evidence confirmed Soto-Escalera was the baby’s father. They argued that he killed Wise after becoming enraged when she used the money he gave her for an abortion on someone else. “The aggravating factors connected to Wise’s death and the death of her baby outweigh the mitigating circumstances,” the judge said during sentencing. “The death sentence is the appropriate and just sentence for each victim.”
Wise’s body was discovered on a rural road in August 2018. Investigators said her head had been bashed in and her throat was cut, with either injury being fatal. Police uncovered messages between Wise and Soto-Escalera, revealing that he was married and his wife was unaware of the affair, as per WPEC.
According to court testimony, Wise had told Soto-Escalera about her pregnancy and asked for money for an abortion. A witness told police that Wise claimed, “If she used Jose’s wife against him, she could get anything she wanted.” Soto-Escalera eventually gave her $500, but Wise never went through with the abortion. Instead, prosecutors said, she gave the money to another man — a move that left Soto-Escalera furious.
In the days leading up to the murder, he was reportedly looking for a “dirty gun.” Cellphone records later placed him at the scene where Wise’s body was found. Forensic analysis of his phone also showed chilling Google searches, including “dead body in woods” and “wooded area dead body,” made shortly before her remains were discovered.
At the sentencing hearing, Soto-Escalera’s defense team urged the court to impose a life sentence without parole, citing his troubled childhood and good behavior while in jail. They argued that he had been bullied as a child and was not beyond rehabilitation.
However, the jury voted 8–4 in favor of the death penalty. The judge ultimately upheld their recommendation, concluding that the brutality of the crime and the deliberate killing of both Wise and her unborn child warranted the ultimate punishment.