Second son of missing Tri-Cities grandmother arrested for murder

A second son of a missing 54-year-old grandmother allegedly played a role in her presumed death by making sure she was home alone.

Carlos Rodriguez Torres, 31, came up with the idea to go out for breakfast with his brother and his girlfriend on March 28, according to court documents.

He then delayed them until he got word from the two alleged killers — his dad and brother — that all was done, documents said.

About 1 1/2 hours after leaving the house in Franklin County north of Pasco, the trio returned to find Estela Torres Rodriguez gone and food burning on the stove.

Investigators have said Estela likely was killed inside the home on Orchard Road based on three large blood stains discovered on the living room carpet, along with other evidence.

However, while her abandoned SUV was found the following week at a Highway 395 rest stop, deputies have yet to find her body. There reportedly was smeared blood in the cargo area of the Buick Rendezvous.

Early on, her estranged husband Tiburcio Larios Rodriguez, 63, and the couple’s 33-year-old son, Clemente Rodriguez Torres, were named as suspects in her killing.

But it wasn’t until a follow-up interview this week with Franklin County sheriff’s detectives that Carlos Rodriguez Torres became a third official suspect.

The Richland man was arrested Wednesday after that interview.

On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Sam Swanberg found probable cause to hold him on suspicion of first-degree murder and set bail at $1 million.

Prosecutors have until Monday to file charges or release him.

His brother and father already are charged with first-degree murder, and nationwide arrest warrants have been issued with bail set at $1 million. They are believed to have fled to Mexico.

Separated in February

Estela Torres Rodriguez and Tiburcio Larios Rodriguez, who have nine children and 15 grandchildren, have been living apart since February, when they returned from a trip to Mexico.

Search warrants earlier obtained by the Herald show he wanted to reunite with his wife of 30 years, but she refused.

Family members also told the Herald that Estela was happy to be free from her controlling husband.

According to the warrants, Carlos Rodriguez Torres met his father and brother in Pasco about 6:30 a.m. March 28 — a few hours before Estela went missing.

The father and two sons drove north to Orchard Road and parked in a field to watch the house where Estela was staying with another son and his girlfriend.

“Carlos said that Tiburcio kept stating how much he loved Estela, and was begging Carlos to go talk to Estela for him and to ask (her) to get back together with him,” the warrants said.

Carlos Rodriguez Torres told his dad he didn’t want to talk to her then but returned about 9 a.m. And she still refused to reconcile with his dad.

Left home alone

Carlos Rodriguez Torres then left the house about 10 a.m. with brother Nicolas Rodriguez and his girlfriend for breakfast in Pasco, court documents show.

Estela stayed home. She called Nicolas Rodriguez about 10:30 a.m. to have him pick up some spices on his way back.

Sheriff’s Detective Steve Warren said in documents that security video from the McDonald’s on Road 68 confirmed all three were there.

The trio then went to the nearby Walmart.

Nicolas Rodriguez and his girlfriend reportedly were checking out at the cash register when his brother received a call from their father.

Carlos Rodriguez Torres then walked back to the auto department for windshield wiper fluid, bought it and then took time to put it in his car in the parking lot before they left, court documents said.

When they got back to the house at 11:30 a.m., Estela and her SUV were gone but the stove was still on with the chicken burning in a pot.

Nicolas Rodriguez told investigators they found it odd, but figured his mother got tired of waiting and ran to the store herself.

The house also smelled strongly of cleaning supplies, and later a bottle of cleaner and a comforter from Estela’s bed were also gone, documents said.

Estela was not reported missing until later that night.

‘Too uneducated to understand’

Detective Warren told Carlos Rodriguez Torres during their first interview that it appeared he helped his father and brother stake out the house and get Estela alone.

“(Carlos Rodriguez Torres) denied these allegations and stated that he was too uneducated to understand this and only cops like me could see that in someone’s actions,” court documents said.

As the investigation continued over the following weeks, Warren noticed inconsistencies in the son’s story, like his purpose for being at the house that morning.

Warren asked for another interview this week and Rodriguez Torres agreed. However, the son stipulated that he “only wanted to answer questions I had not already asked him, as I could watch the recording from the previous interview to get more information,” documents said.

When challenged on the inconsistencies, Rodriguez Torres either said he could not remember or referred investigators to his first interview, documents said.

“Based on my previous experience and training, Carlos was being deceptive throughout the interview,” Warren concluded.

Defense questions

In court Thursday, attorney Michael Quillen said he did not think there is sufficient probable cause to hold him for murder.

“From my review of it, your honor, I see a son assisting to help (in) a marital dispute between his father and mother, a suggestion that they go get some food to eat at 10 o’clock in the morning ... and go get some items from Walmart,” Quillen said.

And then investigators concluded that Rodriguez Torres was avoiding answering detailed questions just because he directed them to review his prior conversation from a month before, he said.

“I just don’t see how we get to the level of murder in the first-degree as an accomplice with any attempt of aiding or abetting in that,” he said.

‘Clearly was assisting’

Prosecutor Shawn Sant reiterated that Rodriguez Torres “cased” the house with his dad and brother and later initiated the breakfast outing with another brother.

“More importantly, during the time that the police investigation shows that the victim’s murder took place based upon the evidence, ... this particular defendant was in constant communication with those other two individuals through his cellphone,” said Sant.

“We believe that this communication is consistent with someone who clearly was assisting by making sure that the other two residents remain away ... (for) sufficient time that they could clean up, as best they could, the crime scene,” he added.

Rodriguez Torres went to the home “with a specific purpose, under the direction of his father, to try to rekindle the relationship,” Sant said. Then, after passing on the information that his mother had no interest in continuing the relationship, Rodriguez Torres gave his father and brother the opportunity to get in and kill her, he alleged.

Daughter Gardenia Rodriguez, in the courtroom Thursday with a sister, wiped away tears and nodded her head as Sant talked about the evidence against her brothers and father.

Rodriguez started a GoFundMe account to help find her mother.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of either Estela Torres Rodriguez or the two wanted suspects is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 509-545-3501 during business hours or dispatch at 509-628-0333. Call 911 if it is an emergency.

This story was originally published May 2, 2019 at 11:36 AM.