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The investigation began on Thursday, when Freddy Remingio Mendieta Pando, 23, walked into Upper Darby police headquarters and told detectives through his cellphone translation application that he killed his partner -- Karina Torres, Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said.
Mendieta Pando showed the detectives on a map where Torres' body could be found: Adjacent to the Schuylkill River Trail in Lower Providence Township, near the Betzwood Trailhead.
At 1:25 p.m., a Lower Providence Police detective found Torres' female lying face down in a wooded area approximately 15 feet off the Schuylkill River Trail, Steele said alongside Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy M. Bernhardt and Lower Providence Township Police Chief Michael Jackson.
Torres had obtained a Protection From Abuse Order against Mendieta Pando that was in effect at the time of the incident, a joint investigation by the Montgomery County detectives and Lower Providence Township police found.
Forensic Pathologist Marianne Hamel of the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy Friday, which determined that Torres died of multiple stab wounds and the manner of death was homicide, authorities said.
Mendieta Pando was charged with first-degree murder and possessing an instrument of crime. Bail is not available for first-degree murder charges.
He is in the process of being arraigned and will be remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility.
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