Woman whose family was slain by Luis Toledo in 2013 now suffers death of son

A mother whose daughter and grandchildren were murdered now has another heartache: Her son's body was found over the weekend in Apopka.

Jonathan Suarez Nieves, 34, of DeBary, had been missing for nearly a week. His body was found Saturday morning in Apopka and no foul play is suspected, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Apopka Police had not responded to a request for information from The News-Journal as of Monday afternoon.

Nieves vanished hours after an incident in Daytona Beach Shores in which the police said he went to a stranger's hotel room, because he said he believed his sister, who was murdered in 2013, was inside.

Nieves is the son of Felicita Nieves and brother of Yessenia Suarez. Yessenia Suarez, along with her two children, Thalia Otto, 9, and Michael Elijah Otto, 8, were murdered in Deltona on Oct. 23, 2013. Their bodies have not been found.

Felicita Nieves could not be reached on Monday. Friends and family posted messages of condolences and prayers on Facebook for her and her family.

Suarez’s husband, Luis Toledo, was convicted of their murders and sentenced in 2018 to three consecutive life terms. He has never revealed what he did with the bodies. 

Previous coverage:Woman whose family was slain by Luis Toledo in 2013 now reports her son is missing

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Nieves' wife, Jazmin Reyes, reported him missing about 3:07 a.m. on Jan. 17, according to a report from the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office. She said Nieves told her at about 7:30 p.m. on Sunday that he was going to take “a drive and clear his mind,” according to the report.

About 8 p.m. Nieves was involved in a crash with an RV parked in the westbound rest area on Interstate 4 in Longwood, the report stated.

Reyes then stated that the Apopka Police Department told her that his truck, a 2015 white Ford, was involved in another crash about 45 minutes later.

The Florida Highway Patrol was notified on Jan. 16 of a crash in which a Ford F-150 registered to Jonathan Nieves struck a firepit at 932 Grand Hilltop Drive in Apopka, according to an email from FHP Lt. Kim Montes. The driver left the scene, the email stated.

Earlier on Sunday, Nieves was staying with his wife at the Hyatt Place in Daytona Beach Shores when the report said he knocked on a person’s room door and identified himself as a police officer.

The person did not let him in and when police responded, Nieves told them he knew his sister “was in the room,” and he wanted to get her out, the report stated. Nieves and his wife were asked to leave the hotel, the report said.

Felicita Nieves said in a previous interview about her missing son that she believed he had PTSD from the murder of his sister and her children.

No further details were available.