A Volusia grand jury indicted Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde on first-degree murder in his wife's disappearance.

The indictment is the charge. ClickOrlando and WESH reported her body has not been recovered. What Sheriff Mike Chitwood told a Tuesday news conference, in ClickOrlando's account, is the sheriff's account of the investigation. It has not been tested at a trial. He is held without bond, and ClickOrlando reported an immigration detainer.

ClickOrlando and WESH reported Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026, that Epifanio IX Ramos Gaminde was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Maria Gaminde, after a grand jury indictment. WESH reported deputies said he was arrested Monday. ClickOrlando's story, updated at 2:31 p.m., reported he was arrested and did not print the word Monday. Both reported her family had no confirmed contact with her since January 2024, and that the couple's home was in DeBary. WESH reported he told investigators she had left voluntarily and was living overseas. ClickOrlando reported he claimed she had voluntarily left for the Philippines or Japan. Both reported investigators grew suspicious of messages said to be from her. WESH reported the messages and other communications did not appear authentic. ClickOrlando reported sporadic text messages, emails, and overseas credit card purchases raised red flags with her family and then with detectives. Both reported the work reached Japan and the Philippines. WESH reported investigators from the Volusia Sheriff's Office and the State Attorney's Office for Florida's 7th Judicial Circuit traveled to the Philippines to gather evidence and conduct interviews. ClickOrlando reported the same trip and also reported the FBI. Both reported her body has not been recovered. Both reported he is held without bond at the Volusia County Branch Jail. ClickOrlando reported he is also held on an immigration detainer from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. WESH's story did not mention a detainer.

ClickOrlando reported Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a Tuesday news conference, "What mother of a five-year-old or 11-year-old just disappears?" The station reported Chitwood said investigators found no flight records showing Maria ever left the United States, and that detectives traveled to the Philippines and interviewed Gaminde's niece, who admitted making purchases and communications designed to make Maria appear alive, all at the defendant's direction. WESH reported detectives found evidence suggesting an effort to create the impression that she was alive and well while preventing her from contacting family, friends, and law enforcement. WESH did not name a niece and did not mention flight records. ClickOrlando reported Maria Gaminde was a teacher at University High School. WESH did not print a job. ClickOrlando's story spelled her Maria in the article and Marie on one photo caption. WESH spelled her Maria. The children in Chitwood's question are not named. The niece is not named. What the sheriff said the niece admitted is his account of an interview. It is not a conviction, and the stories do not report a charge against the niece.

The count both stations report is first-degree murder, filed after a grand jury indictment, in a case where the body has not been recovered. A missing-person report from January 2024 is how the family account begins. The indictment is the charge. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.