Benito Casanova Investigation

04/28/08

Benito Casanova Investigation

ALERT

Police issued an Amber Alert for three children who were missing after their mother, Sophia Garcia was found dead, the 21st of April, from blunt force trauma to the head, a plastic bag over her head, and hanging in a closet in her home in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, of Chicago.

Her body was discovered about noon in her residence in the 1700 block of North Harding Avenue after concerned family members, who had not heard from Garcia, called police, said News Affairs Officer Jo Ann Taylor. Her death is being treated as a homicide, Taylor said, but the cause and time of death had not been determined.

The three missing children, according to the Amber Alert, are Oscar Casanova, 6; Karla Casanova, 7; and Fernando Casanova, 11.

Garcia had a civil order of protection against her estranged husband, Benito.

According to Julie Rusco, supervisor of the Domestic Violence division of the Cook County state's attorney's office, many women seek a civil order of protection over a criminal order of protection because the latter would include charges against the abuser. Both, however, serve the same purpose.

The new protection order stemmed from a Valentine's Day visit in 2007, when Casanova took Garcia's keys. He denied taking them and they were returned a day later, left near a window with a note reading, 'Here are your keys. Goodbye,' the newspaper said.

"I went into the bedroom and pulled the blanket on the bed. And he came at me. He had entered my home and hid until I returned. He choked me telling me that he was going to KILL me because I did not want to be with him," Garcia said in court documents cited by the Sun-Times.

"He ALWAYS tells me that he IS going to KILL me if I don’t take him back, then kill himself. He said that if I go to the police, he will ‘take it out on my sisters,’" she continued. "He says he will kill me and then himself so he doesn’t go to jail.

Under Garcia's recent order of protection, Casanova, 32, was barred from visiting Yates Elementary school where the children attended. But that's where police believe Casanova, who has not been named a suspect, picked them up after classes Friday. A source said he may have headed to Mexico.

The problem with the order of protection was Garcia had not notified the school about the order. According to experts, it's up to the individual to make copies of the order and make a comprehensive safety plan.

Benito Casanova and his three missing children were captured on a surveillance video inside an Arkansas convenience store, Chicago Police reported on April 24.

Casanova may be driving a silver or gray 2002 Dodge Dakota with Illinois license plate number 86196HB. One of the vehicle's plates is missing.

Resource details...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352056,00.html

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/912852,CST-NWS-missing24.article

http://www.suntimes.com/news/24-7/914017,missing042408.article

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