38 year old Mother Vilet Patricia Torrez Missing: Police Inspect Bricks At Her Miramar Home; Estranged Husband Loses Custody Of Children/Update: 11.24.12 Cid Torrez, husband of Vilet charged with first degree murder & held w/o bail, Vilet's body not found

Police are following new leads in the disappearance of South Florida resident Vilet Patricia Torrez, while her children have been removed from the custody of her estranged husband.

Torrez, a Miramar mother of three, was last seen leaving a friend's house the night of Friday, March 30, according to police. Her company car was found in the parking lot of her apartment complex, but the 38-year-old bath remodeling specialist didn't show up for work over the weekend and hasn't made contact with relatives.

Estranged husband Cid Torrez, who picked up the children from his wife Friday afternoon, reported her missing on Monday.

The children were put into the custody of their maternal grandparents Thursday night after an anonymous call to the Florida Department of Children and Families. CBS Miami reports the caller told authorities Cid Torrez had a gun and was threatening to "end it all," which his attorney dismissed as hearsay.

Investigators were unable to find a gun at the home, but a judge Friday morning ruled the children would stay with Vilet Torrez' parents and have supervised visitation with their father for the time being, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Though Mirimar Police have said Cid Torrez is not a particular suspect and has been cooperating with the investigation, a Broward Sheriff's Office investigator with Child Protective Services referred to him as "a person of interest" in court testimony, according to the Sun-Sentinel's report.

Also on Thursday, detectives executed a search warrant on Vilet Torrez' townhouse, appearing to examine closely bricks from around the front door before removing and bagging them for further investigation.

Though police have not yet confirmed any appearance of foul play in Torrez' disappearance, family members say she is unlikely to go missing on her own.

“She would never leave those children,” sister Nayiva Blanco told CBS. “Those children are her life, her life. She would do anything. Go through hell for them."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/06/vilet-patricia-torrez-missing-bricks-child_n_1408490.html

Glad they took the kids away from him but why visitation. Didnt the whole Powell thing wake anyone up? NO VISITATION UNTIL CLEARED GRRRRR

MIRAMAR (CBSMiami) – The husband of a Miramar mother who’s been missing since Friday night is pleading for the public’s help, saying he is worried about her safety.

“I’m so worried about her,” said Cid Torrez, the husband of 38-year-old Vilet Torrez, who Miramar Police say has not been seen or heard from since she left a friend’s home in Miami-Dade Friday night.

“It would mean the world to me and my kids if she could be found,” Torrez told CBS4’s Peter D’Oench. “We have been separated for a few months and have had our problems. But this is so unlike her. She would never leave her kids. This is so unlike her.”

Police say Torrez had taken Friday off from her job at Bath Fitter in Doral on Friday, because it was a teacher planning day in Broward and her two sons and daughter, who are between 4 and 12 years old, had the day off from school.

“I spoke to her Friday morning and then she did not come back,” Torrez said. “Then Saturday her van was at the house where she lived with the kids,” he said, at 12915 S.W. 28th Court, in a gated community off Miramar Parkway.

That van was towed away by Miramar Police on Monday.

“On Saturday I called her job but she was not there,” said Torrez. He said he delayed calling Police until Monday because he thought she might come home.

“We hope that she can be brought home safe,” said Torrez.

Shortly after that interview, two Miramar Police detectives showed up at the home that Vilet Torrez lives in with her three children and where her husband met the media for interviews.

Those close to Vilet Torrez also said she was very reliable.

“She’s a really great and sweet lady,” said Clarissa Garcia, who told D’Oench that she is Torrez’s best friend and godmother to her son Sid Jr.

“This is not in her character to behave this way at all,” said Garcia. “We have been friends for year and she just doesn’t do this. She is my best friend. We talk to each other two or three times a day. The last time I spoke to her was Thursday morning. Then I called her phone Friday and all weekend.”

“Then I texted her Monday morning,” she told D’Oench. The text that she showed D’Oench read “Hey U ok?”

There was no response. “She never answered me,” said Garcia She’s never done this before. And I was here when they towed her Van away, the police did, they just towed it away. I am very worried about her, very worried about her.”

She told D’Oench that she was concerned that Torrez was not reported missing until Monday. “There’s so much time that’s gone by,” she said. “That somebody was missing and she was not reported missing until Monday. That is wrong.”

“She is very much a home body and she was always picking up her kids and bringing home her kids. And when she didn’t do that, the grandmother and grandfather did.”

Another neighbor, Ernesto Rodriguez, agreed. “She was very reliable and always good about her kids. This is not like her.”

If you can help Police with this case, call Miramar Police at (954) 602- 4000 or Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/04/03/police-looking-into-disappearance-of-miramar-woman/

Why would the husband "lawyer up" if he is innocent?

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/fl-torrez-awareness-campaign-20120410,0,2620417.story
Video and photos at link.

http://www.local10.com/news/Search-continues-for-missing-woman/-/1717324/10216200/-/dvsmqcz/-/

Police believe a woman missing for nearly three weeks has been a victim of foul play -- and have filed a search warrant seeking DNA from her estranged husband.

Vilet Patricia Torrez, a Miramar mother of three, was last seen leaving a friend's house the night of Friday, March 30. Her company car was found in the parking lot of her apartment complex, but the 38-year-old University of Miami grad didn't show up for work at Bath Fitter in Doral over the weekend and never made contact with relatives.

"We are going on record," Miramar Police spokesperson Tania Rues confirmed. "Foul play is suspected."

Police have already searched Torrez's Toyota Sienna, a 2009 Jaguar registered to husband Cid Torrez, and the family's Miramar townhouse. A fourth warrant has been filed allowing investigators to obtain DNA and fingerprints from Cid Torrez, who picked up the couple's three children the afternoon of March 30 and then reported his wife missing three days later.

Recent court documents obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel show police removed several items from Torrez's home, including bathroom towels and ladies shorts with what may be blood stains. Detectives were previously spotted inspecting and then removing and bagging bricks from around her front door on April 5.

Both born in Nicaragua, the former Vilet Blanco reportedly began dating Cid Torrez at Miami Springs Senior High School and married in 1998 after he served in the U.S. Marines. The couple separated about two months ago, with Cid Torrez admitting to "little differences right at the end" but insisting the couple closely co-parented despite the crumbling relationship.

Their three children were removed from Cid Torrez's custody after an anonymous call April 5 to the Florida Department of Children and Families. CBS Miami reports the caller told authorities Cid Torrez had a gun and was threatening to "end it all," which his attorney dismissed as hearsay.

Though investigators didn't find a gun in Torrez's home or car, a judge ruled the children would stay with Vilet Torrez' parents and have supervised visitation with their father for the time being.

Family members, meanwhile, continue to care for the children and hand out missing persons flyers in the area, hoping for any information on Torrez' whereabouts.

"I want her to be found," brother Javier Blanco, a local lawyer, told NBCMiami. "At the end of the day, closure means the world."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/18/vilet-patricia-torrez-missing-miramar-cid-person-of-interest_n_1434675.html#s881971

The estranged husband keeps going through my mind.

By ALYSSA NEWCOMB (@alyssanewcomb)
April 26, 2012

A preliminary custody hearing for the three children of missing Florida mother Vilet Torrez will be held today, marking the next step in determining whether the children will be returned to the custody of their father, who has been called a person of interest in his wife's disappearance.

Vilet Torrez, 38, was reported missing on April 2 after her children had spent the weekend with her estranged husband. The missing mom had recently separated from Cid Torrez, her husband of 15 years, with whom she'd had years of marital problems, her family said. The woman's car and belongings were found in her driveway.

The couple's three children, Vilet, 12, Cid Jr., 7, and Marcus, 4, were taken from Cid Torrez's custody and placed in the care of their maternal grandparents after an anonymous April 5 call alleged Torrez had a gun and wanted to "end it all."

Torrez's lawyer, Richard Della Fera, told ABCNews.com his client denies the allegation and any involvement in his wife's disappearance.

"He had nothing to do with her disappearance, and we welcome the investigation because we're confident it's going to exonerate him," Della Fera said, adding that he believed Vilet Torrez's family never liked Cid and always believed she married "below herself."

A judge is expected to rule on the custody of the Torrez children on May 10.

Tania Rues, public information officer for the Miramar Police Department, said authorities are thoroughly investigating all possible angles.

"[Vilet Torrez] did not leave on her own free will, and we believe foul play is suspected," Rues said. She declined to name other possible angles or people who had been questioned but said Cid Torrez had fully cooperated.

Vilet Torrez had dinner plans with a male friend on March 30, Cid Torrez told ABCNews.com shortly after her disappearance. Torrez said his wife had a new boyfriend whom he had met and had been "around" since she was reported missing. The missing mother's siblings said they hadn't heard of a new boyfriend in Torrez's life and said Cid Torrez had a history of being "jealous" to the point they worried about their sister's safety.

"We had been fearing for her life for about a year already," her brother, Javier Blanco, told ABCNews.com. "Her family had been warning her, friends, marriage counselors. We were all urging her to get out, and she was [finally] transitioning her life."

Blanco said his sister's estranged husband hadn't slept over at the family home in months.

"The one day he decides to sleep over, I can assure you it was a surprise to her, she was missing," he said.

Police executed a search warrant on the home, where Blanco said Torrez continues to reside. The Miramar Police Department declined to comment on what, if anything, was found.

Torrez's sister, Nayiva Blanco, 36, said she was having difficulty coming to terms with the idea that anyone would want to harm her "friendly, outgoing" sister.

"Who would hate her? Who would try to get rid of her?" she said. "All Vilet ever did was help people. She had lots of friends. I just don't understand."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-florida-mom-vilet-torrez/story?id=16213834#.T5mUjqvY9Yk

Posted: 04/27/2012 2:58 pm

The brother of Vilet Patricia Torrez, a Florida mother of three who has been missing for four weeks, said he believes his sister's estranged husband is involved in her disappearance.

Javier Blanco, 32, told The Huffington Post he is convinced something bad happened to his sister and that her estranged husband was involved.

"We had been telling her for years to watch her back," Blanco said. "We said, 'This guy is going to hurt you.' In my mind, my gut feeling is that he was involved in some way ... Given the past threats, it's very easy for me to assume he had something to do with her disappearance."

Torrez, 38, of Miramar, had been separated from her husband of 15 years, Cid Torrez, for about three months when she disappeared.

"They were on and off for about a year and a half before that," Blanco said. "When she finally took away the keys to the house, there were death threats [and] he told her that her kids were going to grow up orphans. These were all telltale signs that somebody was going to do something crazy."

Cid Torrez's lawyer, Richard Della Fera, is adamant that his client never threatened or harmed his estranged wife.

"These accusations that he beat her are not true. These accusations that he had something to do with her disappearance are not true," the attorney told HuffPost Friday.

Tania Rues, public information officer for the Miramar Police Department, said investigators have not classified Cid Torrez as a suspect, but he is considered a "person of interest" in his wife's disappearance. Rues declined to elaborate on the reason for the classification.

"It is an ongoing investigation, and investigators are not going to comment on the details," she said.

Vilet Torrez was last seen by a friend she met for dinner on the night of March 30. Authorities have declined to comment on where Torrez went for dinner and will not release the name of the person she was with. Torrez's movements after the dinner are also unknown, but the vehicle she was driving was later found at her residence in the 12900 block of Southwest 28th Court, a gated community off Miramar Parkway.

Torrez was scheduled to work March 31 at her bath remodeling job with Bath Fitter in Doral, but she did not show up or call in.

"According to her supervisor, that was uncharacteristic of her," Rues said. "She is very reliable and responsible ... Obviously, everything points to foul play."

On April 2, Cid Torrez, who had a weekend visitation with the couple's two sons and their daughter, who are between 4 and 12 years old, reported his estranged wife missing.

Blanco said he is suspicious of Torrez's actions prior to the filing of the police report.

"He was at her house that night," Blanco said. "He had not slept at that house for three months and that one night that he chose to be there, my sister went missing. I guarantee you my sister was not expecting him to sleep over at all. Then he took three days to report her missing, which is really sketchy to me. He knew she had to work that weekend, and he didn’t say anything. I still haven't gotten a clear answer as to why that happened."

Della Fera said his client had good reason to be at the residence and claims the Torrezes were in the process of getting back together.

"They had separated, [but] they were making efforts to [save] the marriage," Della Fera said. "They were reconciling their differences and, quite frankly, Vilet was the one who indicated she wanted to reconcile. So, any characterization that Vilet was trying to end the marriage and Cid was upset about that is not true."

According to his lawyer, Torrez has a solid alibi for the period when his wife disappeared.

"He was with his brother and the children all day [and] into the early evening, from March 30 to March 31," Della Fera said. "He picked up his brother, they all went to movies together, [and] they had dinner at an IHOP. Cid's brother was with him a large part of the evening [and] into the morning. We just spoke with police yesterday about that."

Blanco said he does not believe his sister left on her own.

"She would never leave her kids, her home or her family," he said. "She is extremely responsible [and] extremely religious. We're a small immigrant family. We're all from Nicaragua. She is very bright. She graduated with honors from high school and won a scholarship to college. She graduated from the University of Miami with a marketing degree. She attends church regularly and is an incredible, caring mother. My sister is a role model to me and to the family."

According to Della Fera, police have searched Cid Torrez's home, phone and car. They have also obtained hair and saliva samples. He said they have fully cooperated with the investigation.

"My client has not been arrested," he said. "He has been cooperating with the police department."

It is unknown if police have searched Cid Torrez's place of business. According to Blanco, he is manager of the Dania Beach branch of Continental Carbonic Products, Inc. According to the company's website, they specialize in manufacturing and distributing dry ice and liquid carbon dioxide. The company services a variety of industries, including meat and poultry packing, industrial cleaning, and blood and plasma services.

On Thursday, a Florida judge denied Torrez custody of the couple's children. They had been placed with Vilet Torrez's parents after someone placed an anonymous call April 5 to the Florida Department of Children and Families. The caller alleged Cid Torrez was suicidal. His attorney denied the accusation, but Torrez was still ordered to have only supervised visitation with the children.

During the custody hearing, the judge also ordered Cid Torrez to stop making unsupervised contact with the children. Vilet Torrez' family members told the court he has been calling and emailing them.

"It is very critical that he has no [unsupervised] contact with the kids and he has repeatedly tried," Blanco told HuffPost. "He's telling them people are spreading lies and are trying to keep them away from him."

A more permanent custody ruling is expected when both sides return to court May 10. Blanco said he is afraid of what will happen if the judge sides with the children's father.

"If the state gives custody to him, I'm afraid for the kids," he said. "I'm afraid of what he might do to the kids if he is pushed to the brink and feels the walls are closing in. I'm sure the state of Florida does not want a Susan Powell case."

Powell, 28, disappeared from West Valley City, Utah, on Dec. 6, 2009, and has never been found. Her husband, Josh Powell, was named a person of interest in her disappearance. In late 2011, Josh Powell lost custody of the couple’s two young children. On Feb, 5, during a supervised visit with them, Josh Powell locked a social worker out of his home, attacked his children with a hatchet and then set his home on fire, killing himself and his children.

Della Fera said he does not understand why Blanco or Vilet Torrez's other family members think his client is involved in her disappearance.

"I think they’re distraught and they're just pointing fingers out of frustration, desperation [and] exasperation. I can't get inside their heads. That's just my speculation," he said.

HuffPost spoke briefly with Cid Torrez Friday. He had little to say about the circumstances surrounding his estranged wife's disappearance, other than to suggest she ran off.

"She's a loving mother. We want her to come back," Torrez said. "Everybody loves her. [She should not] think anything less from any of us. Her kids are waiting for her. Her husband is waiting for her and both sides of the family are waiting for her. We just want her to come home."

Blanco said he is doubtful that his sister is still alive.

"I know something went bad. Something went horribly wrong. She was decidedly ready to move on with her life and the fact that this happened, at this moment, devastates us," he said. "It's sad that we can't find her. We can't even give her a wake. This was a wonderful person that deserves a funeral. She deserves more than to be on the side of the road or decomposing somewhere."

Vilet Patricia Torrez is 5 foot 3 inches tall, weighs 125 to 130 pounds, and has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to call Miramar police at (954) 602-4000 or Broward Crime Stoppers at (954) 493-TIPS.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/27/vilet-patricia-torrez_n_1459678.html

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-miramar-vilet-torrez-911-call-20120605,0,119420.story

This is a Must Hear!!

Juan Ortega, Sun Sentinel
5:07 p.m. EDT, June 5, 2012

MIRAMAR—
The estranged husband of Vilet Torrez, the mother of three who vanished months ago, said in a 911 call that he unsuccessfully tried to find his wife.

"She's missing," Cid Torrez said during the call. "Saturday, she wasn't here. Friday night, she didn't come to sleep."

A recording of the 911 call was released by the Miramar Police Department on Tuesday in response to a public records request. The recording didn't provide many more details beyond what already was known in the ongoing investigation.

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Vilet Patricia Torrez, 38, was last seen by a friend March 30 and was reported missing on April 2 by Cid Torrez, investigators said. While Vilet Torrez was driving through the gates of the Harbour Lake Townhomes at 5:17 a.m. on March 31, her husband was inside their residence on Southwest 28th Court with the children, police said.

"Supposedly, she was going to go to work, but I don't know what happened from that," Cid Torrez said in the April 2 phone call to 911.

Cid Torrez was recounting for himself and an officer his efforts to figure out the location of Vilet Torrez, said Cid Torrez's attorney, Richard Della Fera. Cid Torrez said he had tried phoning his wife, but there was no answer.

"What we are hearing is a distraught man calling 911 to report that his wife did not come home over the weekend," Della Fera said.

Cid Torrez at one point in the call said, "now Sunday I definitely did it." Della Fera said his client at the time was explaining how he phoned Vilet Torrez's mother to say Vilet Torrez had vanished. "Any suggestion that this statement is an admission of some sort is utterly preposterous," Della Fera said.

Police have called Cid Torrez a "person of interest" in the case, but he has not been charged with any crime.

The 911 recording was edited to remove any references the caller made about his identity, a police spokeswoman said. The editing was done to comply with Florida law, which prohibits law enforcement agencies from releasing the name, address and phone number of a 911 caller, police said.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-miramar-vilet-torrez-911-call-20120605,0,119420.story

The estranged husband of a still-missing Miramar woman is being held in Broward County's Main Jail on a charge of first-degree murder.
continue at: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-miramar-torrez-murder-arrest-20121121,0,4681837.story
Video at link

Missing mom's parents retain care of 3 kids

November 28, 2012|By Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel

Shackled at his wrists and ankles, the man charged with killing his missing wife kept his head bowed and stared straight ahead as a judge Wednesday formally removed his three children from his care.

Cid Torrez, 39, was arrested Nov. 21 at his parents' Miami Lakes home. He faces a first-degree murder charge for the death of his wife, Vilet Patricia Torrez, who disappeared from the couple's Miramar home on March 31 and has never been found.

In a brief hearing, Circuit Judge Hope Bristol of the Juvenlile Dependency Division ruled the Torrezes' three children, ranging in age from 5 to 13, remain in the care of their maternal grandparents. They have been staying with their missing mother's parents since Torrez's arrest.

Torrez, through his attorney, Richard Della Fera of Fort Lauderdale, had asked that the children be placed with his parents. Bristol ordered the state Department of Children and Families to do a home study of Torrez's parents household and will revisit his request at a later date.

The judge also denied visitation rights for Torrez, but that question may also be raised later.

"The goal is to do what's in the best interests of the children," said Paige Patterson-Hughes, DCF spokeswoman.

Miramar police have not released any details about Vilet Torrez's death or why her husband has been charged, despite the lack of a body. Department spokeswoman Tania Rues has only said investigators have collected enough evidence to link Cid Torrez to the crime.

Vilet Torrez was last seen on a surveillance tape as she drove her minivan through a gate at the Harbour Lakes Townhomes at 5:17 a.m. on March 31. The minivan was later found outside the Torrez home. For months, divers searched canals and lakes in the area, but never recovered a body.

Cid Torrez will be formally arraigned Dec. 13.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-11-28/news/fl-torrez-children-placement-20121128_1_vilet-torrez-cid-torrez-richard-della-fera

Husband of missing Miramar woman indicted on first-degree murder charge

December 6, 2012|By Tonya Alanez and Linda Trischitta, Sun Sentinel

They have no body, no remains, no coroner's report — but after hearing the testimony of 16 witnesses on Thursday, it took a Broward County grand jury just 23 minutes to indict Cid Torrez on a charge of first-degree murder in the death of his missing wife.

Vilet Patricia Torrez, a 38-year-old Miramar mother of three, was last seen March 31. Her estranged husband did not report her missing until April 2.

Cid Torrez's defense attorney, Richard Della Fera, said he was not surprised by the outcome of Thursday's closed-door proceeding.

"It's a really one-sided presentation that inevitably leads to an indictment for what the prosecution is seeking," Della Fera said. "There's no direct evidence of Cid Torrez's guilt. They haven't found a body and there has to be proof of a death for there to be a murder."

Della Fera said his client has been falsely accused in a circumstantial case that relies on unsubstantiated accounts that portray his client as a jealous and abusive husband.

Long considered a "person of interest," Cid Torrez, 39, had not been charged with the death of his high school sweetheart and wife of 13 years until his Thanksgiving eve arrest. He is being held without bond in the Broward County Main Jail.

Meanwhile, Vilet Torrez's brother, Javier Blanco, said he was "ecstatic" at hearing word of the indictment.

"I know it was a long time coming, but it was something that was bound to happen," said Blanco, 33, of Miami. "When you look at everything in total, you're looking at somebody who is a pathological liar, who was avoiding the police, and had a history of abusing my sister. Everything put together just made the complete picture for us."

Along with detectives and police officers, neighbors and friends of both husband and wife took their turns before the grand jury — as did Vilet Torrez's parents, Gladys and Ronaldo Blanco.

Among the witnesses was Zoe Rodriguez, the last known person to see Vilet Torrez. The two had worked together at a bath renovation firm in Doral. Vilet Torrez was at his home from midnight to 4:30 a.m. on March 31.

A map prepared by prosecutors showed that Vilet Torrez traveled north from Rodriguez's west Miami-Dade County home on the turnpike, passing through toll plazas and arriving at 5:16 a.m. at the gatehouse of the townhome community where she lived.

Investigators say her husband was inside their home in the Harbour Lake Townhomes on Southwest 28th Court with their children.

"I know they're going to try to portray him as a jealous husband, but he wasn't a jealous husband," Della Fera said. "He was prepared to divorce. Cid had been to a divorce attorney in mid-March and Vilet had talked him out of it."

Vilet's father, Ronaldo Blanco, came to tears Thursday as he spoke in the courthouse hallway of the regret he feels over not intervening more in the couple's troubled relationship and his resulting belief that "Vilet is in heaven."

"If I acted forcefully, I may be in jail, but she may be alive," he said, tears streaming down his face. "Her mom especially was talking to her deeply about the situation. We tried everything. I told her twice, two years ago, to not be suffering and that she was not alone, to please do something. I know he wasn't the right person for her. I began to hear awful things, that he mistreated her."

But she did not rush to divorce, Ronaldo Blanco said, because of the children.

Each of the Torrez children — two boys, ages 5 and 8, and a girl, 13 — has had a birthday since their mother went missing. They are now in the custody of their maternal grandmother, Gladys Blanco.

Despite her belief that her daughter is dead, Gladys Blanco said in Spanish on Thursday that she is "still worried" about her.

"We don't know anything. We don't know where she is. No one knows," she said. "Everyone tells me she's dead. I believe it."

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-12-06/news/fl-cid-torrez-grand-jury-20121206_1_vilet-torrez-cid-torrez-harbour-lake-townhomes

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-12-16/news/fl-torrez-ramsammy-similarities-20121216_1_vilet-patricia-torrez-cid-torrez-pyramiding-of-rank-assumptions