UPDATE 4/24/08 - Chicago police say they have seen surveillance video showing Benito Casanova and the three children at a convenience store in Arkansas. Police say they now believe Casanova has taken the kids to Mexico, where they “are being taken care of”.
Fernando, Karla, and Oscar Casanova
Chicago, IL - Three Chicago children are missing, and their mother is dead. An Amber Alert has been issued for Fernando Casanova, 11; Karla Casanova, 7, and Oscar Casanova, 6. According to the Amber Alert, the three siblings were abducted from Yates Elementary School on Friday about 2:30 p.m., right after school let out. Their mother Sophia Garcia, 30, was found dead at noon Monday with a plastic bag over her head. Her children have not been seen since they were taken from the school over three days ago.
Fernando Casanova is 5 feet tall and weighs 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Karla is 4-foot-1 and weighs 75 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Oscar is 4 feet tall and weighs 60 pounds, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Fernando Casanova is 5 feet tall and weighs 130 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. The children are described as “white Hispanic” in the Amber Alert.
Police are looking for Benito O. Casanova, the father of at least two of the missing children. Police don’t know for sure whether Casanova and Garcia were married. Benito Casanova is described as a 32-year-old white Hispanic male, 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes, the alert said. He is believed to be the person who picked the children up from school on Friday.
Police are also searching for a silver or gray 2002 Dodge Dakota with Illinois license plate number 86196HB. One of the SUV’s plates is missing.
This doesn’t sound good. I’m hoping the children are safe. Anyone with information is asked to simply call 911 and report information on an active Amber Alert.
13 responses so far ↓
1
Lilbay
Apr 22, 2008 at 8:40 am -We have had several cases like this in MD
In one the found dad and kids dead in the house, and Mom was missing. They found some body parts later that turned out to be her laying 10 or 20 miles up the road.
Another a guy hung himself and his kids in the woods at a park where he was to meet the Mom to hand off the kids after a visit and the mom found them.
Another the guy shot himself and the kids. in the same general area same type situation
All these happened within 8 months if that. That is just in MD.
WTH are these people thinking?? If they want to off themselves great have a good time Bye, but why involve these kids.
2
bornagainpagan
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:16 am -Check the border - no, not the Canadian one…
3
Angel
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:20 am -I hope they find these kids safe! I hope the dad gets his ass killed, though. Sorry POS. Now the kids are gonna be orphans, if they are found alive, because with mom dead, even if dad manages not to get himself shot by the cops, he will be in prison till the kids are grown (I hope!).
4
Ceronius
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:28 am -Just a guess but benito is most likely in mexico by now. Or one of the sanctuary cities like L.A. or Houston
5
WryBread
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:42 am -If that’s the case, Benito has a brand new name with birth certificate, someone else’s social security number, and a stolen job. Life is good!
6
Kathy
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:54 am -Is this guy an illegal immigrant? I can’t find anywhere where it says he is.
I’m sure he is hightailing it to Mexico though. He probably thinks he is safe there. Unfortuntaly for him he is mistaken, when he is caught they will just send him back. Mexico doesn’t want our murderers just like we don’t want theirs.
Hopefully he will drop the kids off some place safe and then off himself. Save them the added emotional trauma of a trial.
7
WryBread
Apr 22, 2008 at 10:00 am -You’re right. But even if he’s not an illegal, I would think he’d be smart enough not to use his real name in his new life as a pursued murderer. Thus, he can take full advantage of the things that help illegals stay here: false papers, employers that don’t care to really check i.d.s, and cities that look the other way.
But if he goes straight to Mexico, he can avoid the death penalty, so he’s probably there.
8
blahblahblah
Apr 22, 2008 at 10:34 am -ugh, how horrible. i hope the kids are all right. hey, that’s a who song.
seriously, though, i have such a tender place in my heart for chubby latino little boys. they remind me of my brother when he was little.
9
crimenthusiast
Apr 22, 2008 at 2:47 pm -I saw the Amber Alerts on my way home from work yesterday. Our state finally put up the signs on all highways and tollways for alerts like this, among the normal traffic jams, etc.
I agree that if he has been gone since Friday, he is either in Mexico or one of our US cities that he can easily blend into and obtain false identification. Doesn’t everyone have to obtain a passport to get into Mexico now? Or does it only apply to older children and adults? I thought I had heard that everyone needed a passport. If that’s the case, and they never obtained one for the children, it may make it a little more difficult, but then again, you can obtain so many falsified documents.
I just don’t understand how parents don’t realize that they end up hurting the children when they do stupid things like this. But then again, if criminals actually thought about their actions prior to committing them, we probably wouldn’t hear as many stories like this.
I am praying for the safe return of these children.
10
anneinchicago
Apr 22, 2008 at 9:52 pm -What really bites is that the mother had an order of protection on him for over a year. Sophia said he had threatened to kill her. And the order stated he was to be nowhere near those kids.
And you know what that (words fail me) did? Let him move back in with her a few months ago.
I’m not saying that Sophia deserved to die. I just don’t understand why anyone would take guys like this back. (beats head on wall)
11
Angel
Apr 22, 2008 at 11:14 pm -Confucius say: Sometimes those who won’t put down the penis, will eventually be put down BY the penis……Or maybe Angel said that. Yeah, I think it was Angel.
12
impqueen
Apr 23, 2008 at 2:02 am -Sophia Garcia’s death has been (surprise!) ruled a homicide, with cause of death listed as blunt force trauma.
yeah, that’s not good.
13
impqueen
Apr 24, 2008 at 5:51 pm -Updated article above - Chicago police have seen the kids and Benito Casanova on a surveillance video in Arkansas, and now say Casasnova has taken the children to Mexico.
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