Florida Man Learns Fate After Murdering His 9-Months Pregnant Mistress Who Refused to Get Abortion By Chris Spargo

A Florida man convicted of murdering his pregnant mistress just days before she was set to give birth learned if he would be facing life in prison or the death penalty this week.

Jose Soto-Escalera, 49, was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder by a St. Lucie County jury last month for the August 2018 murders of Tania Wise, 23, and her unborn child.

Post-mortem DNA testing determined that Soto-Escalera was the father of that unborn baby boy, according to a copy of the medical examiner’s report obtained by PEOPLE.

Soto-Escalera returned to court on Oct. 10 for his sentencing hearing.

Judge Lawrence Mirman sentenced Soto-Escalera to death for the murder of Wise, and also sentenced him to death for the murder of their unborn child.

That sentencing aligned with the recommendation of the jury, who deliberated after a week-long trial where they saw crime scene photos of the brutal injuries Wise suffered before her body was discovered dumped in a ditch on the side of the road.

Wise had suffered severe trauma to her head and throat, according to a copy of the arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Authorities initially had another suspect in mind at the start of their investigation before turning their attention to Soto-Escalera.

The investigation shifted after investigators met with a dancer who used to work with Wise at a club in Stuart — a city located approximately 40 miles north of Palm Beach. That former co-worker told investigators that she had met Soto-Escalera, and that Wise allegedly started having sexual relations with him for money.

“Wise told her before she called Escalera she was pregnant with his baby and needed money for an abortion and if he didn’t give it to her she was going to tell his wife,” the investigator wrote in the affidavit. The former co-worker told the investigator that she knew this because Wise called Soto-Escalera on speaker phone to have that conversation.

She further alleged Soto-Escalera had provided Wise with $500 to have an abortion and became angry when she didn’t get one, according to the affidavit.

Investigators then interviewed Soto-Escalera who initially denied any relationship with Wise, claiming that they spent a limited amount of time together and were only connected because their children were friends.

He also provided investigators with his phone during that interrogation, and while he had deleted all his calls for the previous month and texts for the previous week, he had not deleted his internet search history, according to the affidavit.

“I saw his Google search history on 8/23/2018 at 7:38 hours (EST). He searched ‘dead body in woods’ and ‘wooded area dead body.’ He clicked on four (4) related links for the searches,” wrote St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Detective Christopher Newman in the affidavit.

Investigators then spoke to two individuals who described seeing a truck similar in make and color to the one owned by Soto-Escalera near the crime scene, and later obtained video footage of this same vehicle near the area where Wise’s body was later discovered by a passerby.

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Soto-Escalera eventually confessed to having sexual relations with Wise on one occasion but denied that he was having an affair and maintained his innocence in her murder.

He entered a not guilty plea at his first court hearing and continued to insist he was innocent in the seven years between Wise’s murder and his conviction.

The jury also had the option to convict Soto-Escalera of second-degree murder for the deaths of Wise and her unborn son, who she planned to name Josiah.

Soto-Escalera remains in the St. Lucie County Jail as he awaits his prison assignment.

His lawyer did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.