Victim’s family speaks out as deputies continue search for suspect in DeSoto flea market homicide

The family of a woman shot and killed by her ex-boyfriend is speaking out while the accused remains on the loose.

Olivia Maldonado De La Torre, 47, was popular in Arcadia. She was a hair stylist many people looked for each Sunday at the Flea Market on 1019 SW Highway 17, because she knew how to make people feel good with each haircut.

“A lot of people looked for her,” said Marisol Maldonado, Olivia’s younger sister. “Also, just on Sunday, a lady looked for me, and I started to cry because she was talking to me, asking for Olivia because she wanted to fix her hair, and I told her she was not going to be able to do it anymore. My sister is no longer with us.”

Olivia was working early Sunday morning when Emilio Gustavo Angel Olalde, 53, shot and killed her, according to the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office.

Marisol said he was Olivia’s ex-boyfriend, who she believed was a good person and never thought would be capable of doing something like this, but now, all they want is justice for Olivia, and hope Olalde’s actions don’t go unpunished.

As of Tuesday morning, DeSoto County deputies and detectives are still searching for Olalde.

While Olivia’s family still mourn their loss with each passing day and try to help her 10-year-old daughter cope with the loss.

“It was the only Sunday she had not brought her daughter along,” Olivia’s mother, Juanita De La Torre said, “and I told them that if she had come here with her, she might have also been hurt.”

It was the first time Marisol visited the spot where Olivia was killed, and now she has to deal with this new reality – even after having just lost their father in December.

“We’re now left with less of us,” said Juanita. “We were a family of seven, and now we’re five. It’s the saddest and most painful thing that can happen. I never thought I’d bury a child of mine.”

Now, they ask the community to help find the man they believe did this to her.

“I never imagined I was going to lose my sister like this,” Marisol said.

Olivia’s family plans to have a funeral service for her on Saturday.

If you have any information on Olalde’s whereabouts, please contact the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office at 863-993-4700 or Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS. You could be eligible for a cash reward and remain anonymous.