Cid Torrez sentenced to life in prison for killing estranged wife

Vilet Torrez's body still missing after 2012 disappearance

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A man who was convicted last summer of killing his estranged wife was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison.

Cid Torrez, 44, kept his head down as his sentence was read and the victim's family had their eyes closed and their arms draped on each other's shoulders. 

Torrez's sentence was handed down months after his sentencing was rescheduled after he went on a series of bizarre rants in the courtroom.

"Commander-in-chief, the witch hunt ends here," Torrez said at his sentencing hearing in early October. "My name is Cid Torrez. The witch hunt ends here." 

At the end of the month, Torrez went on another rant during a status hearing, saying, "Get a hold of the FBI, Secret Service ... the witch hunt ends here."

Torrez, who was ordered by the judge to be reevaluated, was convicted of second-degree murder July 14 in the killing of his estranged wife.

On Tuesday, a mental health expert testified that Torrez showed signs of paranoid delusional disorder. 

"He's trying to get the attention of the media," prosecutor Lanie Bandell said. "He's trying to beg the media to hear his message and talk to DJT. He made a spectacle of this courtroom." 

The state said that Torrez only showed symptoms of mental health issues after a jury found him guilty of killing his wife. 

The former couple's eldest child testified during the trial that she heard a howling sound at her home on the morning that authorities believe Vilet Torrez was killed.

The teen, who shares the same first name as her mother, told jurors that she then heard her father say, "No, you wake up."

Vilet Torrez Jr. also spoke at her father's sentencing hearing in October, telling her father in part, "You are going to go to hell. Thanks for everything, dad."

Vilet Torrez Sr. was last seen on surveillance video early in the morning on March 31, 2012, after arriving back at her Miramar home after a night out with her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend, Zoe Rodriguez, testified during the trial, claiming that Cid Torrez told him to end his relationship with the victim.

During the trial, prosecutors painted Cid Torrez as a jealous husband who was upset that his soon-to-be ex-wife had moved on with another man.

Detectives said two cadaver dogs detected the odor of human remains in the trunk and backseat of Cid Torrez's car and at the couple's home.

Police said Cid Torrez's co-worker told them the defendant believed his wife had cheated on him, so he used a program to monitor her cellphone.

Vilet Torrez Sr.'s body has never been found and prosecutors said Cid Torrez dumped the body in the Everglades.

Cid Torrez did not testify during his trial. 


About the Authors:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.