A mother of 9 vanished from her Tri-Cities home 4 years ago. Now there’s new information
Estela Rodriguez Torres vanished from her Franklin County home in 2019.
Investigators discovered large blood stains, her clothes and jewelry in a dumpster, missing cash and her SUV abandoned at a rest area. But the body of the 54-year-old grandmother and mother of nine was not found.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office planned a news conference Tuesday afternoon to release new information about her disappearance and murder.
The sheriff’s office sent out an alert Monday afternoon about the 2019 homicide case though no details were provided.
Authorities have said that all of the evidence points to her estranged husband Tiburcio Larios Rodriguez and her son Clemente Torres Rodriguez, both of Prosser, killing her and hiding her body.
But deputies haven’t reported finding any human remains after several searches by air and on the ground in rural North Franklin County.
Her abandoned Buick Rendezvous SUV was discovered at a Highway 395 rest area about a week after her disappearance.
Clemente Torres Rodriguez, 37, was arrested by U.S. Board Patrol Officials in September 2019 after he returned to the U.S. from Mexico. He was brought back to Franklin County to face charges of first-degree murder.
His father, Larios Rodriguez, has been on the run since he was initially charged in Estela Rodriguez Torres’ death. He was last believed to be hiding in Mexico.
Estranged marriage
Two of her other sons and one of their girlfriends told detectives that they last saw Estela Torres Rodriguez at home on Orchard Road on March 28, 2019. She was starting to cook a chicken in the kitchen.
They left and when they returned she was gone, the chicken was burning in a pot on the stovetop and her SUV gone.
Estela and her husband of 30 years had separated a month earlier and he told relatives he wanted them to get back together, but she repeatedly refused.
Investigators claim Tiburcio Larios Rodriguez and another son Clemente Torres Rodriguez went to the house, confronted her and then killed her.
The charges against the two are based on three large blood stains discovered on the living room carpet, along with other evidence, including her clothes and jewelry found thrown away.
Months later, Clemente Torres Rodriguez surrendered at the San Ysidro border entering San Diego in September 2019 and waived extradition to the Tri-Cities.
He is currently scheduled to go to trial on Aug. 16.
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 5:00 AM.