Almost six months after a tragedy that shocked South Florida, family members and community members gathered for a vigil to remember the little girl, Melody Alana Rose Durán, who was killed in May at the age of two by her own father, Jerónimo A. Durán, of Cuban descent.
The attendees of the vigil lit candles in memory of the little girl at Hollywood North Beach Park in Broward this Saturday, the date she would have turned three years old.
Melody's mother, Mona Clarke, was present along with other family members and friends to celebrate her daughter's life.
"It has been very difficult not to have her close. My daughter was my world. She was very sweet, vibrant, and affectionate," Clarke told NBC6 News.
Durán, 33 years old and father of the girl, is accused of the brutal murder that took the child's life on May 28 in Pembroke Pines, Broward County. He faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
Police officers and firefighters from Pembroke Pines were dispatched to a residence located at 404 Southwest 177th Avenue at 9:42 a.m. that day, responding to reports of a "domestic incident."
Paramedics and police found the girl with a neck injury and provided her with immediate medical assistance. She was rushed to Memorial Regional Hospital, but unfortunately, she passed away despite all efforts to save her life.
The police report indicates that the officers found a knife on the kitchen floor, with blood on the handle and blade. The document also states that Durán's grandmother entered the house, saw him on top of her daughter, and shouted, "Get off, what are you doing?!"
At that moment, the woman desperately called 911. "The girl was here and suddenly she's unconscious, she's pale," she exclaimed in Spanish.
"The girl is pale, please help," the woman pleaded. "I just arrived, miss, send an ambulance, I need something fast. The girl is unconscious."
In March 2023, Melody's mother took her daughter and moved out of the house where they lived with Durán. Later, amid a legal dispute over custody of the minor, she claimed that the man was "erratic, aggressive, violent, and dangerous" to both of them.
The response to the custody petition filed by Durán stated that “the father suffers from a mental illness that includes paranoia and anger issues (such as hitting the wall). He also struggles with anxiety.”
The legal battle over custody of the girl was resolved last March when a judge approved shared parental responsibility, deeming it "the best for the child's best interest."
The ruling established a shared parenting plan that allowed Durán to take care of his daughter unsupervised.
By virtue of that court agreement, on the Tuesday when the tragedy occurred, the man picked up Melody and took her to the house he shared with his grandmother, where, according to the police, he took the girl's life.
Representatives from Families Against Court Travesties, a nonprofit organization that supports families affected by what it considers injustices in the family court system, were present at the event this Saturday.
Maysel Bickham, an official with the organization, told NBC6 News that Melody's mother "is devastated; the system failed her and her daughter, and it is unfortunate. She was trying to work with the system to ensure her daughter's safety."
Clarke expressed disappointment with the judicial system. “I feel angry about this. Things could have been handled differently,” she cautioned.
Filed under: