‘It hurts a lot’: Murder victim’s daughter discusses search for fugitive stepdad, how he got away
Heather Toledo’s oldest daughter hopes someday she won’t have to look over her shoulder and worry about where Enrique Toledo is. Heather Toledo was shot to death in 2022 at the age of 37, with her husband, Enrique Toledo, admitting to the crime in a 911 call. The couple's three children were in the home at the time of the shooting. Toledo was released with one of the 10 lowest bail amounts from that three-year period, but he cut off his electronic device the night before a bail hearing for contacting his children, and ran away. The case against Toledo unraveled when he jumped bail months after the shooting and was not present at the bail hearing. The U.S. Marshals are now leading the search for Toledo. Anyone with information about his whereabouts can submit a tip here.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Walt Buteau in General
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Heather Toledo’s oldest daughter hopes someday she won’t have to look over her shoulder and worry about where Enrique Toledo is.
Heather Toledo was shot to death in the evening on July 3, 2022. She was 37.
Her husband, Enrique, now 55, admitted to pulling the trigger in a 911 call made to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators learned the couple’s three children were in the home at the time of the shooting. The oldest was in the bedroom where it happened.
Heather’s oldest daughter has never talked publically about the night she lost her mom.
“I miss her every day. She always lit up every single room,” she said. “She was so funny and she loved animals. We had so many different animals in our house and I bet if we could, we would’ve had more.”
The pivotal moment is difficult to put into words for the college student who was a high school senior at the time of the shooting.
“In the moment, you just feel stuck. There’s nothing that you can do. Nowhere to go,” she said. “Whenever I look back at it, I can’t believe that really happened.”
“It hurts,” she said. “I would say, you just get used to it but it never goes away.”
The case against Toledo unravelled when he jumped bail only months after the shooting.
His wife’s family said the $150,000 bail was too low for someone accused of killing their wife in front of one child, and within a short distance of two others.
8 On Your Side reviewed capital murder records from a period starting about three years before Toledo went on the run.
Out of 126 cases from Jan. 1, 2020 to December 2022, bail was set at $150,000 or lower for only 10 defendants. 71 of them, nearly 60 percent of the accused killers, were held without bail.
So, Toledo was released with one of the 10 lowest bail amounts from that three-year period.
He was supposed to be monitored with an electronic device, but the night before a bail hearing that could have put him behind bars for contacting his children, he cut off the monitor and ran.
His stepdaughter was well aware of the 14 hours it took before authorities realized he was not going to show up for the bail hearing.
“It’s really upsetting to just know that he was out there,” she said. “He could’ve been outside our house and we would’ve never know. I think he’s very capable of hurting other people and hurting other families as well.”
Heather Toledo’s family was also frustrated by a judge’s decision the morning Toledo jumped bail.
Court records show the bond was initially forfeited, meaning the bondsman would be on the hook for $150,000.
But in what was said to be a clerical error in court records the judge had instead revoked the bond, eliminating the forfeiture of the bail money.
Heather’s brother Stephen Green and his wife Michele Green are now raising the Toledo children. They were frustrated the bondsman was not forced to look for Toledo to get the bail money back.
“The continued let down these girls have faced from the judicial system, the monitoring company, the sheriff’s office,” Michelle Green said. “Where does it end? When do these girls get justice.”
Green and Heather’s oldest daughter said they will always be concerned about where Toledo is, until he is caught.
“I feel like we’re always looking over our shoulder, making sure that everyone is okay,” Heather’s daughter said. “It’s stressful just knowing that you could be in danger at any moment.”
The U.S. Marshals Service is the lead agency in the search for Toledo. Anyone with a tip about his whereabouts can submit a tip here.
Topics: Crime, Murder