ORLANDO, FL – Local authorities have classified Carlos Yadiel Baez-Nieves, recently arrested for admitting to murdering two women, as a potential serial killer. Baez-Nieves is presently detained without bail for first-degree murder in connection to the deaths of Fatia Flowers, 41, and Nichole Daniels, 44.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement Monday that Flowers and Daniels were found dead in March and April, respectively, within about a month of each other. The charges against 24-year-old Baez-Nieves include two separate counts of murder and a gun-related murder charge. He also faces an unrelated charge for owning an invalid driver’s license, for which his bond is set at $500.
Sheriff John Mina has expressed concerns about Baez-Nieves being a potential serial killer due to his method of intentionally targeting vulnerable victims. Mina noted that both Flowers and Daniels were sex workers killed under strikingly similar circumstances. Serial murder, defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, entails the same perpetrator unlawfully killing at least two victims in separate events.
Two separate instances reportedly involved Baez-Nieves picking up each woman in his truck, having intercourse, and subsequently strangling them. Their bodies were then dumped at an intersection, and Baez-Nieves returned home.
The Sheriff’s department managed to apprehend Baez-Nieves following his attempts to sell his truck that was involved in the murders. The vehicle, a white Ford F-150, was identified as it was spotted at a local gas station the evening preceding Daniels being discovered dead. Baez-Nieves was seen entering the truck in surveillance footage from the station.