A babysitter had been watching a Florida woman’s two children when the mother’s 3-year-old daughter started crying and said, “Mama cut papa,” court documents state.
The girl’s statement came the same day Orlando police discovered a man’s body in a trash bag between a dumpster and a trash compactor at the Pacifico Apartments in the city on Tuesday, November 9, according to court documents.
The child’s mother, Isidra Bautista Hernandez, is accused of killing her boyfriend inside their shared apartment at the complex two days earlier, on Saturday, November 7, and disposing of his body.
Hernandez, 36, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in connection with the man’s death on Wednesday, November 11, Us previously reported.
An arrest affidavit obtained by Us reveals more details about the man’s killing, identifying him as Eugenio Martinez.
On Monday, two maintenance workers initially found a heavy black garbage bag “covered in flies” with what they suspected were human remains inside near the dumpster area of the Pacifico Apartments, resulting in a 911 call, according to the affidavit.
Orlando police arrived and initially saw a man’s arm, which was wrapped in a blue sheet, inside the bag, the affidavit states.
The man identified as Martinez, 32, “was tied with an orange extension cord and wrapped in 3 black trash bags and a dark blue laundry bag,” an officer wrote in the affidavit.
An autopsy revealed he had “laceration to his neck as well as puncture wounds on his left side, lacerations on his left palm, and lacerations on the left side of his face,” the affidavit states.
Detectives searched the trash compactor that was near Martinez’s body and found several items with suspected blood, including a black sandal, a piece of mail, a broken knife, towels and blankets, according to police.
The investigation led officers to execute a search warrant at Hernandez’s apartment, where suspected blood was found throughout the residence, which appeared to have been recently cleaned, the affidavit states.
While there, a 21-year-old woman approached detectives and revealed her mother had been babysitting Hernandez’s two children — a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son — since Saturday, when the alleged killing occurred.
She said on Monday, the girl cried out saying, “‘Mama cut papa’ and made hand gestures mimicking a slicing motion along her arms, stomach, and neck,” the affidavit states.
Hernandez’s daughter also mentioned “blood” and “trash” to the babysitter, according to the filing.
Hernandez, who had bruising on her arm, was detained and told officers she had been involved in a physical altercation with Martinez, whom she described as her husband but noted they’re not legally married, on Saturday, the affidavit states. She accused him of choking her while holding a long knife.
At some point, she said she took the knife from him and demonstrated a “slashing motion,” according to the filing.
“Hernandez advised that she did not contact law enforcement due to fear; however, she later placed two calls to 911 in hopes that someone would find the decedent at the dumpster,” the affidavit states.
She allegedly also admitted to placing Martinez’s body in trash bags and leaving it near the dumpster.
“Statements made by the couple’s young child referencing her mother cutting someone, along with the subsequent bruising on Hernandez’s arm, provide additional context surrounding the events preceding the decedent’s death,” the officer wrote in the affidavit.
Hernandez’s public defender didn’t immediately return a request for comment from Us on Friday, November 13.
Hernandez is due in court for a hearing set for November 17, records show.
