A Florida man has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the disappearance of his wife, and authorities say he went to great lengths to make it look as though she were alive and living abroad. Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde is accused of killing Maria Gaminde, whose family has had no confirmed contact with her since January 2024.
Maria Gaminde's body has not been found. On Tuesday, investigators searched the couple's property in DeBary, Florida, after a neighbor reported seeing Gaminde doing extensive work behind the home around the time his wife vanished. Searchers focused on an area behind the house where concrete appeared to have been added.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood cautioned that it was unclear whether the search would lead to Maria's remains. "We may get lucky, we may not get lucky," he said at a news conference.
Her family reported her missing in January 2024 after losing contact. By July of that year, relatives were telling investigators that text messages, emails and credit-card spending that supposedly came from Maria overseas did not seem right. Chitwood said the family told authorities, in his words, that something was not right.
Gaminde told investigators the couple was having marital problems and said his wife had left for either the Philippines or Japan. Detectives reviewed digital and forensic evidence and spoke with neighbors, and their attention increasingly turned to him. Chitwood said investigators also learned Gaminde had been arrested twice before for domestic violence.
The case eventually reached overseas. The FBI helped local investigators and prosecutors work through international legal issues, and a detective and a prosecutor traveled to the Philippines to interview Gaminde's niece. "She gives up everything," Chitwood said. According to the sheriff, Gaminde emailed the niece Maria's important documents, including her driver's license and credit cards, and told her what to do with them. Investigators believe this was meant to suggest Maria was alive and avoiding her family, friends and law enforcement.
Authorities traced Maria's last known activity to December 2023. They confirmed that she and her children visited Magic Kingdom at Disney World on Dec. 16, based on fingerprints used to enter the park. Four days later, Gaminde allegedly texted his wife asking where she was. Communications from Maria then stopped, and messages purportedly from her began arriving from overseas. Investigators found no evidence she was still alive. "There's no financial trail," Chitwood said.
R.J. Larizza, state attorney for Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit, said the result of the search would not alter the plan to prosecute. "We're fully prepared to move forward without the body," he said, adding that he has complete confidence in the state's ability to prosecute the case.
Gaminde was already in custody after being stopped for allegedly driving without a license when the grand jury returned the indictment. He is held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail and also faces an immigration detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Chitwood said he has been interviewed repeatedly, and authorities do not believe his accounts. "Every interview he has given us has just been a lie," the sheriff said.
The couple came to the United States together around 2008 and have three young sons, who were with their father when he was taken into custody. They have since been reunited with Maria's family, and Chitwood said they had been denied contact with their mother's side of the family. The investigation is ongoing.
