DOB: 05/22/1978

Case Number: 2026 107016 CFDL

Volusia County Defendant Indicted in 2023 Disappearance of Wife

DELAND – The Volusia County Grand Jury heard the case against Epifanio Gaminde this week. The defendant is accused of murdering his wife in late December 2023 and attempting to cover up her disappearance by making it appear she had moved overseas and was still alive.

The indictment was handed down on Monday. The defendant was charged with First-Degree Murder.

Detectives were executing a search warrant at Gaminde’s home Tuesday afternoon as Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood announced his arrest at a press conference.

“Whether or not there is anything revealed by this search today, will not change anything as far as we’re concerned about moving forward with the prosecution,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said during the press conference. “We are fully prepared to move forward without the body, and I have complete and total confidence in our ability to prosecute this case with the prosecutor we’ve assigned to it.”

The case was investigated by the Volusia Sheriff’s Office with assistance from State Attorney Investigators, FBI Jacksonville and several international partners in Japan and the Philippines. Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak is the prosecutor assigned to the case.