Warrants indicate a North Carolina husband and wife burned their car to hide evidence after a hit-and-run that killed a child in Raleigh last November.
Raleigh police on Thursday announced the arrests of 27-year-old Blanca Iris de Mari Escobar-Roblero and 26-year-old Wilmer Morales-Roblero following a months-long effort to find the driver who hit and killed 12-year-old Samantha Briggs.
On Nov. 25 around 7:30 p.m., Briggs was attempting to cross the road in the 6500 block of Hillsborough St., between Cary and Raleigh, when she was hit and killed by a car that fled the scene.
The crash was the day after Thanksgiving, which was also Briggs’ birthday.
Escobar-Roblero, identified in warrants as the driver, was charged with felony hit-and-run and obstructing justice. According to warrants, she called her husband, Morales-Roblero, after the crash. He was charged with accessory after the fact and obstructing justice.
According to warrants, Morales-Roblero drove his wife to another location and “excessively burned the suspect vehicle.”
During a court appearance, Blanca asked for a court appointed attorney.
The prosecutor said cell phone records put the defendant at scene of collision, as well as scene of where car was taken to and then burned in Franklin County. Police also found plastic at the scene of the hit-and-run, which matched the burned vehicle.
During an interview, Blanca admitted to hitting Samantha.
The prosecutor asked for a 200,000 bond, but the judge left it at $50,000.
Her husband Wilmer is a citizen of Guatemala and undocumented in the United States, according to the court. He also has a warrant in the state of Arizona.
The prosecutor said Wilmer’s involvement was after the collision with Samantha, and his cell phone record pinged at the location after the collision, then to Franklin County where the vehicle was burned. He also admitted to the crimes, along with his wife.
Police have texts messages between the two about the burning of the car.
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