Fatima Garcia Avila, a 21-year-old Florida woman, who is already incarcerated and awaiting trial for double homicide, is now facing an additional charge of solicitation to commit murder.
This charge is a result of her alleged attempts to have the key witness in her case killed. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Garcia Avila, while detained at the Falkenburg Road Jail, tried to persuade other inmates to carry out the murder.
It is claimed that Garcia Avila and her partner in crime, Daniel Negrete (28), had devised a plan to murder Erica Aviles, Negrete’s cousin’s wife, due to the fact that they believed she was an unfit mother. On the night of July 18, 2022, the couple drove to Aviles’ house, where Negrete shot her several times, ultimately killing her.
The two criminals then sought to frame Garcia Avila’s ex-boyfriend, Antonio Benito Cuellar-Enriquez, as the murderer. To this end, Garcia Avila contacted Cuellar-Enriquez and invited him to her house. Once there, she tried to drug him with an excessive amount of pain pills, but this was unsuccessful. Negrete then struck the victim on the head with a firearm and shot him multiple times. Garcia Avila attempted to use Cuellar-Enriquez’s phone to send a message to Aviles’ father, apologizing and claiming it was not the plan.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister stated that Garcia Avila’s actions demonstrate her lack of regard for life other than her own. He praised the work of the detention deputies and staff for being attentive and alert and for stopping a potential homicide.
Garcia Avila and Negrete have been charged with first-degree murder and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against them. Additionally, Negrete’s cousin, Cornelio Negrete, is facing charges for helping to plan the murder.