After Montco Killing, District Attorney Urges Domestic Violence Victims To Get Help

LOWER PROVIDENCE, PA — Freddy Pando would have been in court in Delaware County on Sept. 16 answering charges that he allegedly put his hands around the neck of Karina Torres and forcefully strangled the young woman.

Instead, Pando, 23, spent that very day showing a Lower Providence Police detective where he stashed the body of Torres, also 23, after he reportedly confessed to stabbing her to death and hiding her body in an area near the Schuylkill River Trail’s Betzwood Trailhead in Montgomery County.

Last week, Montgomery County authorities charged Pando with first-degree murder and other charges relating to the homicide of Torres, an Upper Darby mother who leaves behind a 4-year-old child.

The Delaware County hearing that had been scheduled related to a Protection From Abuse Order that Torres had taken out on Pando stemming from a previous alleged strangulation incident, which had led to criminal charges being filed against Pando in that county.

Meanwhile, over in Montgomery County, when prosecutors announced Pando’s arrest last week in connection with the killing, the topic of domestic violence was at the forefront of the conversation.

Montgomery County has had nine homicides this year, District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a news conferencing announcing Pando’s arrest, and “too many of them are relationship-based.”

“This is the tragedy that comes with these facts,” Steele said.

Steele said that Pando had faced between five to 10 years in prison if he had been found guilty on the strangulation charge, which is now classified as a second-degree felony after Pennsylvania lawmakers some years back changed the statute to include the upgraded charge.

“It’s a serious identifier of danger,” Steele said of strangulation. “Somebody who is willing to strangle somebody is seven times more likely to kill them.”

Sadly, Torres had taken the initial steps to rid herself of her alleged abuser, going to court and obtaining a Protection From Abuse Order. That, combined with bail conditions from Pando’s arrest, meant that Pando was “not allowed to be around here,” Steele said.

But apparently that wasn’t enough to keep the two from meeting one another, since Pando and Torres got together, reportedly to discuss the PFA and related issues. Pando is accused of stabbing Torres to death after a possible argument that may, or may not, have been related to the PFA.

During last week’s news conference, Steele said he could not get into specifics with regard to what Pando told detectives, but he did say that Torres was a “witness against him [Pando]” in a related court matter, and that, “whether that was the cause [of the killing] or not, I can’t tell you.”

But Steele went on to say that Pando was in jeopardy of having his liberty taken away depending on the outcome of the hearing in Delaware County, a hearing that never ended up happening due to Torres’ killing. People are left to draw their own conclusions over whether or not the prior case against him played a role in Pando allegedly committing homicide.

Steele took time during last week’s news conference to hammer home the point of the dangers of domestic violence, and how the topic needs to be taken more seriously if society wants to prevent tragedies like this from continuing.

“This tragic killing of Karina Torres is the worst end result of domestic violence,” Steele said in his statement. “The victim was previously strangled and sought help from police, who charged the defendant.

“Karina then obtained a Protection of Abuse Order,” Steele said. “But sadly, the defendant was able to reach her and ultimately killed her. People who are strangled by a spouse or intimate partner need to know that they are in serious danger – they are likely to be killed by that person, as in this terrible case. Women experiencing domestic violence need to know there is help available. Reach out to Laurel House or the Women’s Center of Montgomery County. They can help.”

Steele said Delaware County and other Pennsylvania counties also likely have similar resources for those being abused by a partner.

Pando remains held without bail at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility. There is no bail for first-degree murder in Pennsylvania. If he is convicted on the first-degree murder charge, Pando faces a lifetime prison sentence.