KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is asking for help in identifying a man who has been named a suspect related to the 1995 murder of a Kissimmee woman.
In cooperation with the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina, authorities are seeking any information that can help with the case surrounding Maria Telles-Gonazlez's murder, FDLE said in a news release.
Officials say they believe the man they are looking for murdered Telles-Gonzalez in Florida and then took her body to Yemassee, South Carolina.
The woman was 36 years old at the time of her death and was also a wife and mother of three. However, she was never reported missing, FDLE says.
On May 24, 1995, a South Carolina Highway Department employee found Telles-Gonzalez's body in a drainage ditch on a road in Yemassee. After performing an autopsy, authorities say her death was ruled as a homicide.
Telles-Gonzalez's remains reportedly went unidentified from 1995 until December 2022 when the sheriff's office and a cold case investigator in South Carolina revealed her identity and where she was from using advanced DNA technology and genealogy research.
After talking to some of the woman's family members, authorities say the family last saw her in 1995 at their Merrimack Drive home in Kissimmee.
"...It was learned the day following Maria’s return from a trip to Puerto Rico in May 1995, she left her Kissimmee, Florida home after her three children went to school," the FDLE wrote in the news release. "She never returned. It was also learned that Maria’s husband was home alone with her when the children went to school. She left without her vehicle. The suitcase she arrived from Puerto Rico with was also gone."
Now, investigators say leads have identified a possible witness only known as Carlos – who is believed to have been a friend or boyfriend of the woman. Carlos also may have been a resident in the Orlando area at the time of Telles-Gonzalez's death.
Carlos is described by authorities as a Hispanic man and believed to be between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10.
"People familiar with Carlos reported he spoke Spanish and very good English," the release mentioned.
Below are photos of Carlos from 1995 with Telles-Gonzalez and also an age-progression image.
Maria Telles-Gonzalez and Carlos
Anyone with information on Telles-Gonzalez's murder or Carlos' whereabouts is asked to contact investigators at 843-816-8013.
To learn more about the cold case, click here.
