Man Who Threw Rockville Woman's Body Off Bridge Sentenced For Her Murder

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MD — A man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend and later throwing her remains off an Intercounty Connector bridge has been sentenced to prison, according to a report.

Francisco Lara Garcia, 33, was sentenced last Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court to life in prison, with all but 40 years removed, and five years of supervised probation upon release in the death of 20-year-old Keylin Chavez-Dominguez of Rockville, WTOP reported.

While he initially denied involvement in her death, he later confessed and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on March 19.

Chavez-Dominguez was reported missing on Jan. 2, 2023, after she was last seen by her friends and family three days earlier in her apartment in the 12300 block of Braxfield Court, according to police. A witness told police that they saw Chavez-Dominguez leaving her apartment with an unidentified man on Dec. 31, 2022.

Her body was located on Jan. 28, 2023, at Upper Paint Branch Stream Valley Park in College Park.

Through their investigation, detectives identified Lara Garcia as a suspect in the case. The couple was living together at the time of Chavez-Dominguez's disappearance, according to police.

On Feb. 1, U.S. Marshals tracked Lara Garcia to a residence in Kirkwood, Missouri, where he was arrested and taken into custody.

Lara-Garcia later told investigators that he killed Chavez-Dominguez following an argument over music, WTOP reported. He said he beat and strangled the young woman before he wrapped her remains in trash bags and tossed them off the bridge.