Woman Found Dismembered with Rosary Beads Inside Suitcase After Boyfriend Sends 'Concerning' Messages

Authorities have charged a man with murder after finding a Florida woman’s remains inside a suitcase across state lines.

Police in Georgia found the body of Carmen Elsa Escalante Carrera, 29, inside a suitcase on Oct. 31, days after she disappeared from her Florida home, and her boyfriend, 41-year-old Jorge Javier Quintero, has now been charged with first-degree murder, according to an arrest affidavit from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office obtained by PEOPLE.

The investigation began on Oct. 29, after Quintero reportedly sent “concerning” text messages to a friend, who then found a “bathtub covered in blood” and a bloody knife in his Orlando, Fla., residence, the court records said.

Authorities responding to the scene found bloody clothes and a bloody bathtub, alongside notes appearing to be suicide notes, per the affidavit. The investigation later led police to another apartment, where the couple were soon to move together, which also had bloody towels and blood spots on the walls.

However, neither Quintero nor Carrera could be located, police said.

On Oct. 31, U.S. Marshalls located Quintero in Saraland, Ala., and shot him during an alleged encounter, the affidavit states. He was taken to the hospital in critical but stable condition.

Later that day, Georgia authorities discovered a grisly scene on a road — a suitcase containing Carrera’s dismembered, naked body, with a power cord around her neck, alongside rosary beads, according to the affidavit.

An autopsy later determined she died from ligature strangulation. According to the National Gun Violence Memorial, Carrera was a teacher. 

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Quintero was arrested on Monday, Nov. 25, and charged with first-degree murder and fraudulent use of personal identification information, online court records show.

The records did not indicate if he has entered a plea. It is not immediately clear if Quintero has legal representation to comment on his behalf.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.