2 charged with murder for fatal stabbing at Orlando hotel

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of two people Wednesday for the stabbing death of a young man at a hotel last month.

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Just after 4 p.m. on June 3, deputies responded to the Homewood Suites on N. Alafaya Trail for reports of a stabbing.

They arrived to find the victim, 19-year-old Jacob Dewitt, with a stab wound to the stomach as well as a witness who was attempting to help him.

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Deputies say they attempted to talk to Dewitt at the scene but he was not able to speak because of the pain. Despite surgery, Dewitt died from his injuries at the hospital on June 11.

Deputies investigating the stabbing found surveillance video from the hotel that shows Dewitt meeting with someone in a white car just moments before the stabbing was reported.

The video shows Dewitt walk away from the car as a man in the driver’s side and a woman in the passenger’s side get out and chase after him.

The video doesn’t capture the stabbing, but shows the two suspects walk back to the car and drive away.

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Investigators were able to learn the suspect vehicle’s tag number and identified the owner as 21-year-old Nicole Jimenez of Lakeland.

After searching the car and reviewing data from Jimenez’ phone, investigators identified the second suspect in the surveillance video as an Orlando man, 24-year-old Chad Rivera-Rohena.

After reviewing more cellular data and interviewing witnesses, investigators determined Rivera-Rohena and Jimenez met with Dewitt at the Homewood Suites to sell him drugs.

Deputies say Rivera-Rohena pursued Dewitt first as Jimenez followed, but both suspects participated in the deadly attack.

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Both suspects were booked into the Orange County jail Wednesday on charges of first-degree murder with a weapon. They’re being held there on no bond.

According to the sheriff’s office, Jacob Dewitt was living at the Homewood Suites with other relatives while their family home was being built.

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