Florida – In a horrific case In Florida that has been described by prosecutors as “heinous” and “coldly premeditated,” a 48-year-old man, identified as J. Escalera, is finally heading to trial, seven years after the brutal killing of a 23-year-old woman, identified as T. Wise, whom he impregnated and was secretly involved with. Escalera faces two counts of first-degree murder for the killing of Wise and her unborn son, whose body was found in a ditch along a remote road in August 2018.
Escalera, who was married to another woman at the time of the murder, is also charged with two counts of second-degree murder, and prosecutors have confirmed they are seeking the death penalty, citing the particularly cruel and calculated nature of the crime. According to police and court documents, the killing stemmed from Escalera’s anger after discovering that Wise—who was eight months pregnant with his child—had not used the $500 he gave her to terminate the pregnancy. Witnesses told investigators that Wise threatened to tell Escalera’s wife about the affair if he didn’t provide the money. The woman later confided to a friend that if she used Escalera’s wife against him, she could get “anything she wanted.”
The defendant allegedly gave Wise the cash during a meet-up later that day, but she never followed through with terminating the pregnancy. Instead, she reportedly gave the money to someone else. Three days before her body was discovered, a witness said Escalera was furious. He allegedly said Wise had “played him” and asked the witness if they knew how to get a “dirty gun.” But prosecutors say Escalera used a knife instead. Wise’s body, found face down in a ditch on August 24, 2018, showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head and multiple stab wounds, according to an arrest report.
Escalera initially denied having se- with Wise, claiming that she had only stripped for him. However, DNA testing would later confirm that he was the father of the baby. Phone records further linked him to the crime—data revealed multiple calls between the two on the night before the killing, and cellphone towers pinged his location near the site where her body was found. Perhaps most damning were the digital footprints he left behind. Authorities say that hours before Wise’s body was discovered, Escalera had performed internet searches for terms like “dead body in woods” and “wooded area dead body.” He also reportedly clicked on several related search results.
Escalera was arrested a month after Wise’s body was found. Since then, the case has slowly made its way through the legal system. This week, jury selection began in his trial. The prosecution argues that the murders were “heinous, atrocious, or cruel” and committed “in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification.” These factors qualify the case for capital punishment, the state says.
If convicted, Escalera could face the death penalty, a rare but still active sentence in Florida for particularly egregious crimes. His defense team has not yet commented on trial strategy, but they are expected to challenge the intent and planning alleged by prosecutors. As the trial begins, Wise’s family holds onto memories of a young woman who was preparing to welcome her first child—only to have her life, and her baby’s, stolen by a man whose rage turned fatal.
