A Florida woman who was allegedly texting with her incarcerated husband about coaching a witness in his murder case has been charged with conspiracy and is now in prison herself.
Beatriz Herrera, 32, is married to Joshua Touchton, 38, a convicted killer who was found guilty of murder in 2013 and is currently appealing his sentence.
According to court documents, Touchton and Herrera are now charged with conspiracy to tamper with a witness after Herrera was allegedly caught smuggling a cellphone to her husband in prison. Text messages and voice notes discovered on her phone allegedly revealed a plan to coach a witness in Touchton’s murder case.
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According to an arrest affidavit filed against Touchton on April 3, police were tipped off by an assistant state attorney via email, who stated that he had been investigating Herrera after she allegedly smuggled cigarettes and cellphones to her husband in prison.
A search warrant was issued for Herrera’s phone, which was said to contain “a sound clip that Touchton made for Herrera trying to get her to coach someone on how to testify for his upcoming evidentiary hearing.”
The detective stated in the affidavit that a witness in the original trial was reportedly about to recant his story, giving the appeal new momentum. However, the affidavit alleges that Touchton and Herrera coached the same witness prior to his testimony.
According to police, a male voice instructed “what needs to be said by [the witness] and how he needs to say specific things, including Joshua did not kill Mike, but [redacted] did.”
Detectives were able to confirm that the male voice was Touchton, who was texting Herrera.
Touchton and Herrera texted in November and early December 2024 about the witness’s affidavit being notarized. In mid-December, Touchton allegedly sent a PDF containing questions about the murder and “specific answers” that the witness was to provide.
Police said Touchton admitted to speaking with the witness in February.
Herrera was arrested in March for allegedly smuggling cellphones and cigarettes. At the time, she reportedly told police that she received a text from a “random person” offering to pay her to smuggle the items.
She gave police her phone’s passcode after confirming that Touchton had been transferred to Orange County Corrections due to new evidence presented in his appeal.
The search warrant on Herrera’s phone revealed several conversations about the witness and what Touchton expected him to say in court. Touchton texted Herrera on February 20: “Baby, with [the witness], I’m about to make you a recording.”
According to the affidavit, the recording began with Touchton saying, “Okay baby, this is what you need to go over with [the witness]…” Touchton allegedly told the witness, “[the witness] needs to remember that [redacted] was the one who killed Mike.” Touchton also allegedly told Herrera, “[E]verything that transpired that night, [the witness] was never at the murder scene,” and he “needs to stick with that.”
Touchton also claimed that the witness had to state that he was “threatened by the state prosecutor.”
Herrera allegedly told Touchton at the start of their conversation, “Baby, you’re going to come home.”
Herrera was charged with conspiracy to tamper with a witness. She was booked into the Orange County Jail on Friday with a $5,000 bond. Touchton was also charged with conspiracy to tamper with a witness while incarcerated.
