Florida Man Convicted of Kidnapping and Assaulting Wife and Children Who Escaped by Tricking Him into Driving to Shelter

Antonio Caban

A Florida man is facing life imprisonment after being convicted by a jury for kidnapping his estranged wife and their four children during a harrowing and violent crime spree that spanned multiple counties.

Antonio Caban, 36, was found guilty in Collier County Circuit Court and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 7. According to authorities, the victims—Caban’s wife and their children—had fled from Puerto Rico to Florida in an attempt to escape years of domestic abuse. However, Caban tracked them down, resulting in a traumatic and life-threatening incident on January 3, 2023.

The encounter began when Caban’s wife agreed to meet him at a motel in Labelle. The following day, they met again in a grocery store parking lot, where an argument quickly escalated. When his wife attempted to leave with the children, Caban forcibly intervened by snatching the car keys from the ignition, taking control of the vehicle, and reportedly threatening to “destroy the vehicle and kill everyone.”

As his wife tried to escape, Caban bit her in the face and forced the family to drive with him across several counties. He eventually pulled over in a rural area, ordered the family out of the vehicle, and beat his wife with a tire iron. The assault continued with threats to purchase a shovel from Home Depot and bury their bodies. At one point, he confiscated and buried his wife’s cellphone in a citrus field after she began receiving calls.

Despite the terror, the victim managed to outwit Caban by convincing him to drive to the domestic violence shelter where she had been staying, claiming she needed to retrieve personal documents. Once there, she alerted staff, who contacted the authorities. Deputies from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office responded swiftly and rescued the family. Caban was taken into custody at the scene.

Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk praised the victim’s bravery and the coordinated law enforcement response. “This case is a stark reminder of the dangers victims of domestic violence can face,” Rambosk said. “I commend the victim for her courage and quick thinking in the face of great danger. I also want to thank our deputies and partnering agencies for their rapid, coordinated response that brought this family to safety and helped bring a violent offender to justice.”

Caban was convicted on multiple charges and now awaits sentencing, where he faces the possibility of life in prison.