Florida man on probation charged with murder after stepfather found dismembered in suitcases

ORLANDO. Three suitcases left along a roadway near an Orlando home carried a grim discovery: dismembered human remains, found by deputies with the Orange County Sheriff's Office just before midnight on Aug. 4. Jose Proano, 44, the stepson of the victim, Jorge Vazquez-Escutia, 71, has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond.

The family had already raised the alarm before investigators reached the suitcases. Relatives found Vazquez-Escutia's phone, wallet, and keys at his home, blood on the fence outside, and his cars in the driveway with the doors unlocked. He had not been seen in three days. Friends of Proano had also contacted the family with the claim that Proano had told them directly he had killed his stepfather.

What the surveillance footage showed

A neighbor's security camera placed a man in a black shirt jumping over the back wall of Vazquez-Escutia's home on the morning of Aug. 2, the day after Vazquez-Escutia was last seen alive. The same footage showed the man carrying suitcases and placing what appeared to be a human arm into one of them. By 4:28 p.m., he was walking down the driveway with three pieces of luggage. Detectives noted in court records filed in Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit Court that the suitcases appeared heavy, the man's left tricep visibly flexed as he pulled them.

Phone records showed Proano's handset had been in the area at the same time. When investigators asked to meet, he agreed. He told them he had a "negative relationship" with Vazquez-Escutia and believed his stepfather had "restricted his ability to see his mother." He also described his schizophrenia, saying voices led "him to worry about members of his family." Records show he had made numerous 911 calls asking deputies to check on his mother; each time, they found all was well. Investigators noted defensive injuries on Proano: scratches on his hands, arms, and a large scratch along the right side of his cheek.

Proano initially insisted the person in the footage was not him. He later admitted the phone in the records was his and had in fact been at the scene.

The two remaining suitcases were found about 400 feet from the first. Luggage tags carrying Proano's mother's name were still attached.

Against the backdrop of a 2022 armed burglary charge, Proano had accepted a plea bargain that reduced potential prison time from as long as 20 years to probation running until 2027. The murder charge has reopened that earlier case. His public defender declined to comment, stating Proano had not given permission to discuss the matter.

A GoFundMe set up for Vazquez-Escutia's family to cover funeral expenses describes him as "a kind-hearted, gentle, and generous man who was always ready to lend a helping hand to neighbors, friends, and family alike."