ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man has been sentenced to life in prison for a 2019 double homicide in Orange County. Pablo Antonio Tavarez, 32, was convicted following the deaths of 34-year-old Kristina Upchurch and 37-year-old Nicole Evans.
The bodies were discovered in May 2019 on the 3900 block of West Orange Blossom Trail in Apopka. According to Orange County Sheriff John Mina, Evans suffered two gunshot wounds to the head and multiple stab wounds, while Upchurch had been stabbed multiple times.
Investigators linked Tavarez to the murders through DNA evidence found under the victims’ nails. He was arrested nearly six months after the bodies were discovered and initially pleaded not guilty in 2022.
Tavarez faced two counts of first-degree murder with a weapon. His life sentence, handed down on September 26, 2025, addresses the first of those charges, with the second count scheduled for a later court hearing.
Sheriff Mina emphasized the role of forensic evidence in bringing Tavarez to justice and noted that the case closure provides some measure of accountability for the victims’ families.
