A man has been sentenced in the December 2022 murder of a young woman in Montgomery County, Maryland, whose remains were thrown off an Intercounty Connector bridge.
Keylin Chavez-Dominguez, 20, was killed by her ex-boyfriend following an argument inside of the pair’s apartment in Rockville on Dec. 30, 2022, according to charging documents.
Francisco Lara-Garcia, 33, was sentenced last Friday in Montgomery County Circuit Court to life in prison, with all but 40 years removed and five years of supervised probation upon release for Dominguez’s murder.
Though Lara-Garcia initially denied being involved in the 20-year-old’s disappearance, he later confessed to the murder and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder on March 19, 2025.
A person walking his dog finds woman’s remains
The young woman was reported missing by Lara-Garcia on Jan. 2, 2023, after failing to show up for plans with her current boyfriend, according to court documents. Though Chavez-Dominguez and Lara-Garcia had broken up, they continued to reside in the same home.
Her body was found by a person walking his dog in Silver Spring, who spotted human remains, partially concealed by trash bags on Jan. 28, 2023. The body was found along a path underneath Maryland Route 200, the Intercounty Connector, between New Hampshire Avenue and Route 29.
Investigators went to Lara-Garcia’s apartment after discovering Chavez-Dominguez’s body. Within an hour, he left the state and went to Missouri with plans to return to Honduras, according to court documents.
Police feared he may leave the country and arrested him in Missouri for driving without a license four days after finding the human remains. Lara-Garcia confessed to her killing to Montgomery County investigators.
“We thank Montgomery County Police and the United States Marshals Service for their assistance in providing justice for the victim’s family. This defendant lied to police and Chavez Dominguez’s loved ones for nearly a month while they desperately kept hope alive that she may have been found unharmed,” Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said in a news release.
An argument over music turns deadly for young woman
Lara-Garcia told investigators that he wanted Chavez-Dominguez to change the music she was listening to on the night of the murder. That turned into an argument and he beat and strangled the young woman, killing her.
The next day, he dumped Chavez-Dominguez’s cellphone near her current boyfriend’s home, hoping to draw suspicion toward the man in case police tracked the device.
Lara-Garcia stopped on the Intercounty Connector and tossed her remains, wrapped in trash bags, off the bridge. He then drove to Philadelphia for New Year’s Eve.
Man stuck sewing needles into photo with ex-girlfriend
Lara-Garcia and Chavez-Dominguez had begun dating in 2021 in Honduras before coming to the United States and moving into an apartment together.
When the couple broke up, they continued living together and Chavez-Dominguez largely covered the cost of rent. According to a Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s news release, Lara-Garcia was dependent on his ex-girlfriend and her family, who lived in the same apartment complex.
A roommate who lived in the apartment with the pair said Lara-Garcia barely worked and that he was jealous of Chavez-Dominguez’s new relationship, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office said.
The roommate remembered the two had an argument the night before Chavez-Dominguez went missing — partially fueled by the young woman finding a photo of herself that her ex-boyfriend had stuck sewing needles into. Later, Lara-Garcia admitted to investigators he’d done that out of anger toward Chavez-Dominguez.
Honorable Sharon Burrell sentenced Lara-Garcia last week to serve 40 years in prison.
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