Yesnin Salvador Bonilla-Iscoa, 30, facing first-degree murder charge

Yesnin Salvador Bonilla-Iscoa (WKMG)

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – An Orange County man is set to face a judge Wednesday after detectives say he stabbed a woman to death inside a vehicle, according to a newly released arrest warrant affidavit.

Deputies said they initially responded to the area of Clarcona Ocoee Road and Rose Avenue around 12:17 p.m. on May 10, 2023, after getting a call from the victim’s boyfriend.

Upon arrival, detectives said they found Maria De Los Angeles Paulino, 52, dead on the floor of a car with “obvious signs of trauma.”

The victim’s boyfriend told detectives that Paulino didn’t live with him, and he last talked with her the night before.

Deputies said when Paulino was not answering text messages or phone calls, the victim’s boyfriend became suspicious and used an iPhone tracking app to track her location that happened to be near the crime scene.

While on scene, a bystander approached detectives and informed them that they had found a knife covered in blood and wrapped in an unknown cloth, less than a quarter mile from the scene, detectives said. The following day, investigators said an autopsy was conducted and showed Paulino was stabbed 16 times. A comprehensive review of video surveillance and license plate readers showed Paulino leaving her apartment complex on May 10 at approximately 3:18 a.m.

Maria De Los Angeles Paulino, 52, was found dead in a car with “obvious signs of trauma" in Orange County on May 10, according to the sheriff's office. (Orange County Sheriff's Office)

On Sept. 8, 2023, law enforcement officials obtained and analyzed data from Paulino’s iPhone.

According to an affidavit for arrest warrant, the information showed on the night of the crime, Paulino had multiple short conversations with a person through the iPhone application, WhatsApp. Detectives said the number was labeled in the victim’s phone as “Abaca Rd Y Rose Av” which appears to be an intersection approximately one block from the crime scene, the report said.

Deputies said they determined the phone number to be associated with the suspect, 30-year-old Yesnin Salvador Bonilla-Iscoa. Detectives said Bonilla-Iscoa was cited and provided a phone number to Florida Fish and Wildlife officers 27 days prior to the homicide.

According to the affidavit, evidence obtained from the victim’s phone and a historical cell site search warrant obtained confirmed that Bonilla-Iscoa’s phone was in and around the crime scene on the date and timeframe of the incident, records show.

On Oct. 8, 2023, detectives obtained a search warrant and discovered Bonilla-Iscoa had relocated to to Lubbock, Texas, to live with his sister.

During the investigation, authorities said they were able to obtain DNA evidence from a used ice tea can that linked Bonilla-Iscoa to a DNA sample found on the knife at the crime scene.

Bonilla-Iscoa is now in the Orange County Jail facing charges of first-degree murder with a weapon.

Details on a motive have not been released.

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About the Author:

Landon joined News 6 in 2017. He grew up in Southern Illinois and graduated from Southern Illinois University with a bachelors degree in TV and digital media. When he is not at work you can catch him at one of Orlando's theme parks or the beach. Before working at News 6 he worked for stations in Miami and Fort Myers.