A Casselberry man who stabbed his girlfriend to death then calmly drove their children to school was sentenced Nov. 5 to life in prison without parole.

FAREL TORRES, 38, killed Vanessa Santiago with a steak knife in their apartment off S.R. 436 and Winter Woods Boulevard the morning of May 29, 2024. Hours later, a seemingly hysterical Torres called police and described a fit of passion to dispatchers, “I stabbed her in the head … I stabbed her ‘cause I was mad.”

At trial in September, Seminole County prosecutors Domenick Leo, Jacob Polk and Sarah Mian made the case to a jury that Torres’ tears were part of an act.

Torres had been angry that Santiago was breaking up with him and kicking him out of their two-bedroom apartment, prosecutors told jurors. So, Torres retrieved a steak knife from the kitchen, disabled a security camera in their bedroom, and killed Santiago with their two children nearby. He left her body on the bedroom floor while he dropped off their kids at school and then called other family members before calling 911.

Jurors deliberated for 14 minutes on Sept. 18 before finding Torres guilty of second-degree murder.