Miami handyman brutally killed La Carreta waitress. Will he face death penalty again?

A man who was on Florida’s Death Row for beating, stabbing and strangling a La Carreta waitress with a rice cooker cord back in 2005 will once again face a jury — who’s tasked with deciding if he should be executed for the grizzly slaying two decades ago.

Rafael Andres, 61, was convicted in 2014 of murdering 31-year-old waitress Yvette Fariñas. Fariñas, who worked at the restaurant at Miami International Airport, had hired Andres, a handyman, to do renovations at the efficiency she lived in with her boyfriend.

Andres — originally sentenced to death by a jury in a 9-3 vote — was granted a new sentencing trial due to constitutional issues surrounding the state’s death penalty. Andres is already serving a life sentence on other charges stemming from the murder.

Andres’ resentencing, which is still in jury selection, is expected to begin with opening arguments on Wednesday…

Story continues

TRENDING NOW

LATEST LOCAL NEWS