KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The woman wanted for first-degree murder following the Dec. 22 discovery of a body in Rocky Hollow Park in Excelsior Springs may have fled to Mexico, according to court documents.
Elena Del Carmen Flores-Garcia has been charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action and abandonment of a corpse.
On the morning of Dec. 22, Clay County detectives dispatched to Rocky Hollow Park, located at 14812 Old Quarry Road in Clay County, on a reported dead body call.
Clay County Parks Department employees discovered the deceased body of a man in a culvert upon their routine park checks, per court documents.
The man — later identified as 53-year-old Gildardo H. Carvajal, of Gardner — was found partially submerged in water. Black plastic bags were found covering Carvajal's lower half and head. A substance resembling blood was observed on or near the bag covering his head, according to court documents.
Severe blunt force trauma was observed on the face and head of Carvajal, and an autopsy later performed provided a preliminary cause of death as multiple blunt force trauma. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
Flores-Garcia's daughter told detectives her mother was the girlfriend of Carvajal.
According to court documents, Flores-Garcia told her daughter she had to go to Mexico because of a family emergency.
Flores-Garcia also reportedly told her daughter that if someone from her work called she should tell them Flores-Garcia resigned.
Sometime between Dec. 20-21, a witness heard a noise or scream and went into Flores-Garcia's room to find her with a bat. The witness reported seeing someone not moving. The witness then closed the door because her younger brothers were within the residence, per court documents.
Flores-Garcia had someone help her carry out a mattress that had a piece cut out of it. The mattress was then placed on top of a Honda CRV, and the location of the mattress remains unknown.
A witness reported Flores-Garcia drove a black 2013 Volkswagen Jetta with a Kansas license plate all day on Dec. 21.
On Dec. 27, investigators with the Clay County Sheriff's Office conducted an area check of surveillance video cameras between midnight on Dec. 20 through 10 a.m. on Dec. 22 in regards to the Volkswagen.
According to court documents, the suspect vehicle was captured on camera in the following locations on Dec. 21:
- 7:05 a.m. — West 6th Street at Star Drive eastbound in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri.
- 7:44 a.m. — Old Quarry at Wornall Road southbound in Excelsior Springs, Clay County, Missouri.
- 8:11 a.m. — North Grove Street at Clear Creek southbound in Kearney, Clay County, Missouri.
Video at a QuikTrip located at 411 W 92 Highway in Kearney captured the suspect vehicle enter the parking lot around 7:05 a.m. on Dec. 21. The suspect is seen exiting the vehicle, entering the store, paying $20 for gas and leaving the premise, per court documents.
Further investigation efforts into the video believe to have found a "large reflective shiny material consistent with what a black plastic trash bag looks like" in the back of the suspect vehicle.
These surveillance videos are located in the area of Rocky Hollow Park.
A witness later informed investigators that Flores-Garcia cleaned the suspect vehicle sometime after these events on Dec. 21.
In a statement, Juvenile Witness 1 told investigators that Flores-Garcia "advised her to stay in the living room and not to move" while she and Witness 1 cleaned the bedroom, which has been identified as Flores-Garcia and Carvajal's bedroom, with "acid." Juvenile Witness 1 said furniture and carpet were also removed.
Juvenile Witness 1 said Flores-Garcia told her she should lie about what she had witnessed because Flores-Garcia could go to jail for "a long time," per court documents. Flores-Garcia also advised the juvenile witness to delete all phone calls and text records between them.
Juvenile Witness 1 later identified a set of drawers, removed carpeting, trash bags and a nightstand found in two separate dumpster locations as being items from the bedroom.
Johnson County Crime Scene processed both the residence and dumpsters, and found blood stains in Flores-Garcia and the victim's bedroom, according to the court documents.
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Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
