A Casselberry man who stabbed his girlfriend, left her body on their bedroom floor, then drove their children to school has been convicted of murder.

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

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

Torres told Casselberry Police he recklessly killed Santiago during an argument, and he told jurors at trial it was in a fit of passion – possible reasons for manslaughter charges instead of murder. But prosecutors presented evidence that Torres maliciously killed Santiago and seemed to prepare for it by retrieving the knife from a kitchen drawer and disabling a security camera in the bedroom.

Jurors absorbed video from elsewhere in the apartment that showed Torres was desperate and angry at Santiago, 34, who had reported him to police once before for domestic violence. Santiago was breaking up with him and kicking him out of the apartment that she leased and paid for.

“Abuse is not about love, abuse is about control, and we successfully took that control away from the defendant,” Mian said.

Video evidence also showed that Torres and Santiago’s two children were home to hear the fighting and stabbing — and one boy walked in on the act before Torres ushered him out of the room.

Mobile-phone data shared with the jury showed that after taking the children to school that morning, Torres returned to the apartment and searched through Santiago’s phone, opening her Instagram account, copying her credit card information, and transferring funds from her bank account to his. He then called family before calling police to report himself.

After a four-day trial, the jury deliberated for 14 minutes on Sept. 18 before finding Torres guilty of second-degree murder.  He faces up to life in prison.

“While there is nothing that can replace the loss of a loved one,” Leo said, “it is our hope that obtaining justice for Vanessa will help the healing process for her dear family.”

Said Polk: “No child should have to experience that type of loss.  I’m just glad that Vanessa has a close-knit family that have leaned on their faith in God to help them through this grieving process.”

Circuit Judge Melanie Chase scheduled sentencing for Nov. 5.