ORLANDO, Fla. — A woman accused of killing the father of her children is jailed without bond.
Investigators said Isabel Garcia, 39, killed Carlos Vidal, 35, and left his body partially covered with a trash bag near the Marriott Vacation Club Grand Vista on International Drive.
Vidal's body was later discovered by a father and his teenage son, who were on vacation, authorities said, and an autopsy revealed that he had skull fractures due to a blunt impact to the head.
"The next step was to go and find out who he was with in the last hours of his life. That led us to the mother of his two children," said Jane Watrel of the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
According to an arrest report, detectives brought Garcia in for questioning, as well as the couple’s two children.
"Their stories did not match up with her stories, and that was part of the reason, inconsistencies, that helped lead to her arrest,” said Watrel.
Garcia later confessed to the crime, deputies said.
The police report states that Garcia told detectives that while she and Vidal were arguing in their kitchen at her apartment near West Oak Ridge Road, she became angry when he threatened to take their children and move to Chicago or Mexico.
At some point during the argument, detectives said an attack happened.
Detectives also said they found a mattress with a large blood stain in a garbage dumpster near Garcia's apartment complex.
Neighbors told Channel 9 they heard the couple fighting often. They said sometimes the fights were a nightly occurrence, but none thought they would turn deadly.
“It's ridiculous. I mean, how could you let it escalate to that?” said neighbor Charlie Donley.
“I don't know what to say to that. It's just scary,” said neighbor Marie Nicholas.
Garcia has been charged with second-degree murder in the case. She is being held without bond.
Authorities said a follow-up investigation revealed that Vidal was transported to the hospital in 2006, due to a stab wound to the abdomen, and initially reported to law enforcement he was robbed, but then told family members he was actually stabbed by Garcia.
Garcia filed a restraining order against Vidal after they broke up, claiming he taunted her with numerous phone calls and text messages.
A judge ordered that the couple have non-hostile contact regarding the children.
The children are now in care of others, presumably family members.
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