One of the people accused of killing 42-year-old Janice Zengotita-Torres back in 2018 accepted a plea deal for her involvement in what investigators call a murder-for-hire that ended up with the wrong woman killed.


What You Need To Know

  • Janice Zengotita-Torres, 42, was killed in 2018

  •  Investigators say the people who killed her had mistaken her for someone else

  • On of the people charged in her death, Glorianmarie Quiñones-Montes, pleaded guilty in the case Friday

Glorianmarie Quiñones-Montes pleaded guilty for killing Zengotita-Torres Friday morning. Prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to 22 years and the plea deal was approved by Judge Keith Carsten.

Family members of Zengotita-Torres, though, said they wanted to see a harsher sentence. 

On Jan. 8, 2018, investigators say the suspects mistook Zengotita-Torres for someone else, kidnapped her after she got off work, suffocated her and dumped her body near Ormond Beach.

Last year, former State Attorney Aramis Ayala backed off from seeking the death penalty for two of the three co-defendants in this case, Ishnar Marie Lopez and Alexis Ramos-Rivera.

Back in 2017 then-Gov. Rick Scott took away about 30 first-degree murder cases from Ayala’s office, after she took a stand against death penalty cases in general. This caused cases to be shifted to the Fifth Judicial District instead.

Loved ones of Zengotita-Torres said they don't feel like they're not getting the justice they deserve.

Janice’s niece, Carmen Janiselle Hernandez Zengotita, will be graduating from the University of Florida soon with a doctorate in pharmacy. 

It will be a special moment, but bittersweet because she cannot share it with her aunt, Zengotita-Torres, who always motivated her.

“She always wanted what was best for me," Hernandez Zengotita said. "So she supported my dreams and my goals. She was always — even when things got hard and I said I can't do it anymore, she still believed that I could.”    

Looking at a slideshow and videos, Hernandez Zengotita said her aunt was taken too soon. 

Now Hernandez Zengotita wants maximum punishment for those accused of the crime, despite the death penalty no longer being an option. 

“We worried there was a chance for a lesser sentence, and unfortunately time passed by and what was promised at first now is not there anymore,” Hernandez Zengotita said.

She said writing a victim impact statement was no easy task, and she said having to do it three different times made it even harder. 

“We have faith that justice will be served," she said. "That what was promised will come true and as we have been saying since day one, we want justice for my aunt."

Hernandez Zengotita and her relatives say they find comfort looking at old photos of Zengotita-Torres when she was alive and vibrant.

“She was beautiful,” Hernandez Zengotita said.  

Hernandez Zengotita’s family created a makeshift garden in the backyard to honor Zengotita-Torres.

“For me, this garden just symbolizes my bond, our bond with her,” she said.  

Hernandez Zengotita said she just can’t let her aunt down.

“She might not be physically alive but it reminds us that somehow she is with us, whether it's in spirit, or in our hearts, or in our minds,” she said.  

Alexis Ramos-Rivera’s trial happened last year in November, he was given two life sentences. And Ishnar Lopez-Ramos has an upcoming hearing scheduled for May 4.