Michelle Rodriguez Laracuente, a 42-year-old Hispanic woman, was found fatally shot inside her home at the Rio Hills Townhomes on Manoel Silva Street in Kissimmee on March 5, 2018. Osceola County sheriff's deputies discovered her with injuries consistent with a gunshot wound. Two of her teenage children were reportedly inside the residence when the shooting occurred, leaving them exposed to the immediate aftermath of their mother's violent death.
Investigators soon focused on Rodriguez Laracuente's estranged husband, Alex Antonio Olivencia-Alvarado. Authorities said the couple had children together and a documented history of domestic violence. Records from 2016 showed that Rodriguez Laracuente had told law enforcement she feared what he might do, describing him as increasingly aggressive and paranoid. She reported being punched without provocation, regularly threatened and left with bruises that were photographed by a deputy. A no-contact order was issued after that earlier incident, although it was later canceled after prosecutors dropped the related charges.
Following the killing, detectives determined that Olivencia-Alvarado was responsible and obtained a warrant charging him with first-degree premeditated murder. Officials warned that he should be considered armed and dangerous. His black Toyota Scion was later found abandoned near a retention pond off Boggy Creek Road in Orange County, prompting an extensive search involving the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, Orange County deputies, Orlando police officers, SWAT personnel and police dogs. Several nearby schools were temporarily placed under heightened security while officers searched the surrounding area.
The search continued for six days before Orange County deputies responded to a reported burglary at Meadow Woods Middle School. No students or employees were inside the building at the time. Deputies encountered Olivencia-Alvarado on the school grounds and took him into custody without further violence. Authorities recovered a 9-millimeter handgun during the arrest. Osceola County detectives then transported him to the county jail, where he was booked on the murder charge. Possible armed-burglary charges were also considered in connection with his presence at the school.
During his first court appearance, a judge informed Olivencia-Alvarado through a Spanish-language interpreter that he was charged with first-degree premeditated murder. The judge ordered him held without bond, citing both the seriousness of the accusation and the documented allegations of domestic violence. She stated that she had no reason to believe he would not remain a danger to society if released.
Additional evidence disclosed during the prosecution included a lengthy letter written in Spanish by Olivencia-Alvarado. In the letter, he discussed the troubled relationship, accused Rodriguez Laracuente of turning their children and relatives against him and complained that she had threatened to call police and force him from the home. Court records reported that the letter contained a statement suggesting she deserved to die because, in his view, she had taken away the trust, respect and love of his children. Prosecutors treated the letter as potential evidence of his resentment and motive.
Olivencia-Alvarado was ultimately convicted in the Osceola County case and sentenced to life in prison. He appealed the judgment, but Florida's Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court's decision in May 2021. A later post-conviction appeal was also affirmed by the Sixth District Court of Appeal in July 2025. Florida correctional records continue to list him as incarcerated under a life sentence, bringing the criminal prosecution to a conclusion while Rodriguez Laracuente's children and loved ones were left to endure the lasting consequences of her death.
