By james art A grisly scene unfolded Tuesday night when a man and woman were found dead after a murder-suicide in a Hialeah apartment. A little boy was left alone, locked in the block for days.
Around 9 p.m. Tuesday, Hialeah Police announced they were investigating a “domestic incident” that resulted in the deaths of 28-year-old Clifford Renard Murray III and 27-year-old Rosemary Gutierrez at an apartment building located at 605 W. 68th St. Ma
The couple lived together and were the parents of a 3-year-old son, who was found unharmed but dehydrated and dirty. Police believe Murray shot and killed Gutierrez before turning the gun on himself sometime over the weekend.
Hialeah Police Lt. Eddie Rodriguez said Gutierrez’s sister had gone to the couple’s apartment several hours earlier, around 6 p.m., after not hearing from her since Saturday morning.
When she arrived, she knocked on the door, but no one answered. However, she heard the sound of her 3-year-old nephew crying from inside the unit, said Rodriguez, the police spokesman.
Unable to force the door open on her own, she called 911. The police and fire department arrived at the same time, and firefighters broke down the door to find a horrific scene, Rodriguez said.
Firefighters took the boy to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, where Rodriguez said he needed to be fed and hydrated as a precaution.
“I pray that he never has to remember what he saw,” Rodriguez added.
As of Wednesday morning, the toddler was in the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families, Rodriguez said.
Eduardo Fernandez, who has lived next door to the couple for six years, said Wednesday that the sound of gunshots woke him up around 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
“I heard the shots, but I wasn’t sure what they were. I went up to the window but I didn’t see any movement or hear any noise,” said Fernandez, who spoke to the Herald in Spanish.
Other neighbors, according to Rodriguez, also told police they may have heard gunshots Friday night but did not call authorities. They also said they did not hear the child cry.
Fernandez said there was never a problem with the couple.
“Everything was normal,” he said. “Everyone was very polite, the little boy was also very polite. he [Clifford] I didn’t speak Spanish, but sometimes I went to help them clean the air conditioner.”
Fernandez said he is most concerned about their 3-year-old son.
“What worries me is the child,” he said. “He was in an apartment with dead parents for three days.”
Rodriguez added: “This is obviously a tragic case. What we are doing now is our due diligence and we pray that this child will never remember this day.
