DELTONA, Fla. – A grand jury has charged Luis Toledo with first-degree murder in the disappearance of his wife's two children.
The bodies of Toledo's wife, Yessenia Suarez, and her two children, 9-year-old Thalia Otto and 8-year-old Michael Otto, have not been found since their October disappearance, but deputies have declared them dead.
Toledo was first charged with second-degree murder after he said that he struck Suarez in the throat during an argument about their troubled marriage, killing her, according to a report.
He had not previously been charged in the disappearance of Suarez's children. Toledo told investigators someone else was responsible for killing the children.
Toledo was indicted on four charges--two charges of first-degree murder for the children, one charge of second-degree murder for Suarez and a charge of tampering with evidence.
Toledo will now have to make a first appearance on the new charges and then an arraignment will be scheduled where he will plead guilty or not guilty.
Local 6's legal analyst said the indictment means the grand jury found the state's evidence strong enough to charge Toledo for the childrens' murders.