Police: Woman, teen charged in Orlando murder chased victim before he was beaten, stabbed & shot
Police have released new details from their investigation into the October murder of a man who was found shot in the street near downtown Orlando.
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Officers responded to the 600 block of Lexington Ave. near Lake Dot just before 10 p.m. on October 9 for reports of a person lying in the street.
Police arrived to find the victim, identified as Sean Ruben Acosta, lying face-up in the roadway. Officers noted stab wounds on Acosta at the time but a Medical Examiner later determined he died from a gunshot wound to the back.
A month after the murder, on November 10, Orlando police arrested 24-year-old Kelonshay Watson in connection to the case. Days later, they identified 17-year-old Anaitasha Santana as a second suspect.
Court documents released Thursday- after Santana was ordered to be moved from the Juvenile Justice Center to the county jail- reveal exactly what the two are accused of doing and how police tied them to the crime.
According to investigators, there is no known connection between Acosta and the two suspects.
Using surveillance video from public safety cameras, businesses, and homes in the area, police were able follow the movements of all three of them on the night of the murder.
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Video shows the two suspects sitting on a bench at the Lynx bus terminal downtown when the victim walks by and there’s a brief exchange of words between the three of them. Acosta can be seen continuing to walk while occasionally looking back over his shoulder towards Watson and Santana.
It’s unclear what was said, but a police report says Watson and Santana then “willfully and decidedly pursued” Acosta on foot for nearly a half-mile away from the terminal.
Investigators say Watson caught up to Acosta first and pushed him against a car before Santana joined her in kicking and stomping him. Witnesses told police both suspects were beating Acosta when they heard a gunshot. The suspects then took Acosta’s backpack and ran from the scene.
Police say they paired the various video clips they gathered with an automated facial recognition system to develop Watson first as a presumptive suspect. That work pointed investigators to an Oct. 30 incident at Watson’s home that led to her arrest on unrelated charges and listed Santana as the victim.
Investigators compared body-worn camera footage from the Oct. 30 incident to the video they collected of the suspects on the night of the murder to help make the positive identification.
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Watson has been in the Orange County jail since November 10 charged with first-degree murder and robbery.
Santana was booked into the Orange County Jail Wednesday on a charge of second-degree murder. They’re both being held on no bond.
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