A friend of the woman found dead in a murder-suicide along with her boyfriend in their Hialeah apartment while their 3-year-old son was inside says she was shocked to learn of the tragedy.
The bodies of 28-year-old Clifford Renard Murray III and 27-year-old Rosemary Gutierrez were found Tuesday in their apartment at 605 West 68th Street.
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Police confirmed Wednesday that Murray killed Gutierrez before taking his own life.
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The couple's 3-year-old son was found safe inside the apartment, though he may have spent several days inside with his parents' remains, police said.
NBC6 spoke with Gutierrez's friend, Allyson Almendarez, on Thursday, who said she and Gutierrez had been friends in high school.
"She was just a very cheerful person, always laughing, her and I would always make jokes. I think people in high school even thought we were so annoying because we were always laughing," Almendarez said.
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Almendarez said Murray and Gutierrez first met while working at a Hialeah Macy's in 2015.
"He seemed like a good person," she said. "Once, at Rosemary's birthday party, I just remember he was always looking at her like with the eyes that you get when you're in love with somebody. He would always speak highly of her in front of me. You know, things that I would say is a good person and somebody that cares about her."
Hialeah Police said they responded to the apartment after Gutierrez's sister hadn't heard from her in days.
Neighbors remembered hearing gunshots around midnight Saturday.
Police have not revealed how long the toddler may have been alone, or when his parents died.
The boy was placed in the care of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
"The only thing we can do for the child right now is to pray that he doesn't have to remember this day," Hialeah Police Lt. Eddie Rodriguez said Tuesday.
