Florida man who called for answers to wife’s murder charged with conspiring to have her killed

A Florida man stood next to his wife as she was gunned down. He publicly grieved her and called for her killer to be caught. Now, he’s behind bars.

Cornelio Negrete Jr., 28, has been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, principal to first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and false reports to law enforcement in the July 18 murder of his wife, 22-year-old Erica Negrete, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.

Negrete, who was also shot on the same day, is now the third arrest in his wife’s death, following his cousin, 20-year-old Daniel Negrete, and his girlfriend, 27-year-old Fatima Lizeth Garcia Avila.

Negrete, believing his wife had cheated on him with at least two men, arranged with his cousin and Garcia Avila to kill Erica, then frame Garcia Avila’s ex-boyfriend, 25-year-old Antonio Cuellar-Enriquez, according to arrest affidavits obtained by the Tampa Bay Times.

Cornelio Negrete Jr.

Cuellar-Enriquez was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound on July 25, a week after Erica was shot.

Investigators got a break in the case when Erica’s father got a text apologizing for what “they did” from a number linked to Cuellar-Enriquez, who used to work for his tire company, according to the Times. He turned the text over to police, who quickly realized that Cuellar-Enriquez could not have sent the text; he had been found dead hours before it was sent.

The night of Cuellar-Enriquez’s death, Garcia Avila allegedly invited him over and gave him pills to help with a headache that she hoped would cause an overdose. When it didn’t work, she called Daniel Negrete, who fatally shot him in a struggle, according to police.

Garcia Avila and Daniel Negrete have both been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.