A man shot and killed his elderly parents and partner before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide at a home in southwest Miami-Dade Sunday, police and family members said.
Miami-Dade Police on Monday identified the gunman as 62-year-old Jesus Regueira Jr.
According to police, Regueira shot and killed his parents, 83-year-old Jesus Regueira Sr. and 84-year-old Mercedes Morato, 61-year-old Kyrsten Stahre, who police identified as his girlfriend but family members said was his wife, before turning the gun on himself.
The tragic scene unfolded at a home in the 4500 block of Southwest 137th Court in Kendale Lakes.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
Officers had been called to the home Sunday afternoon for a welfare check and found all four bodies. A gun was found laying next to Regueira Jr.'s body.
The bodies were first discovered by family friend Joanna Cruz, whose mother was bringing food to Morato, who was under hospice care.
Local
“She couldn’t cook anymore, so my mom came to give her food and she kept knocking and knocking and nothing. And she asked me to bring the key,” Cruz said Monday.
What she found inside was a bloody scene.
“I saw the elderly lady on the bed and the elderly man’s body on the bed to the left, blood coming out of their mouths, and the wife in the other room,” Cruz said. "I feel like I'm in a nightmare."
The elderly woman's stepson told NBC6 that he had been trying to get in touch with her for the past three to four days but wasn't getting a response. When he went to check on her, he also found her and the others dead.
Kyrsten Stahre’s sister spoke with NBC6 on Monday and said she is in shock because her brother-in-law was not a violent person.
“I think the problem was his mom had a severe stroke and she was in hospice and his mom was his life. Because someone had said that he wasn’t handling it well. The mom was there, but she had hospice coming in. His mom was his favorite person in the world. I don't know about the dad but I just know that’s probably what happened," Carol Miloch said.
Miloch said she believes Regueira killed her sister because she said her sister had a mental health disorder herself and perhaps he felt she could not stay alone without him.
"He wasn’t a violent guy. He was very laid back. He was like easy going. It’s hard to picture him doing that," Miloch said.
Catholic Health Services and Catholic Hospice confirmed Morato was one of their patients.
"Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased during this profoundly difficult time. We extend our sincerest condolences and offer our support as they navigate through this tragedy, the organization said in a statement. We are a Catholic healthcare organization committed to the well-being and safety of our patients and are fully cooperating with the authorities."
A neighbor who did not want to be identified said healthcare workers who were at the home last week expressed concerns.
“They were just concerned about the son because he seemed to be not well emotionally,” the neighbor said.
She said the workers, who made daily visits, couldn’t get into the home on Thursday or Friday.
“They kept calling on the phone and they kept knocking on the door, and that’s when we called 911 on Friday, but they didn’t see any movement inside, any reason to break open. They did not know if they had left or what,” the neighbor said.
Police said all four people had lived in the home. It was unknown how long the bodies had been inside.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
